Session 8 summary
Contemporary Art and Indigenous Communities
Danie Mellor’s inspiration for his works are from his own Aboriginal Heritage and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian cultures. His Paternal side of the family is of American and Australian descent and his maternal great-great-grandmother, Eleanor Kelly, and great-grandmother, May Kelly, were Indigenous Australian people from the rainforest country around Cairns. Cairns became colonized between the 1850s-70s, the forests of Cairns became a legendary character which showed the journey of introducing and spreading language.
Danie Mellor has been fascinated by the infrared photography as it shows many hidden elements which, just as the aboriginals are not visible but are present there in nature. He is very interested in aboriginal presence and history which has greatly affected his late colonial photography.
Some of his notable works are; Landstory2018, Beneath towering palms 2018, An answer to the Romantic struggle 2018, Of myth and memory 2018, Dreaming Beyond Paradise(Let Sleeping Giants Lie) 2008, White native 2004, BayiMinyjirral2013, Maba-I BalaRugu (of Power in Darkness) 2013, A time of the World’s making 2019, The Bounty 2017, On a non-correolationist thought I- XIV 2016, A gaze still dark ( a black portrait of intimacy) 2019, A universe of things 2016, Tales of the departed 2021, On the edge of darkness (the sun also sets) 2020, The end of certainty 2020, A question of being 2020, Against the dying of the light 2020, DYSTOPIA [ all the debils are here] 2018 and more.
Each of his work presents a different story and aspect of aboriginals. The baskets in the images are quite symbolic as baskets were used for many things, it had daily uses but sometimes they were also used in sacred rituals. For Maba-I BalaRugu (of Power in Darkness), Danie Mellor had personally calculated the constellation of stars to the date the work was put on exhibition. Works like A question of being 2020 directly represents warrior figures and shield bearers. The DYSTOPIA [all the debils are here] 2018 is presented in the exhibition in such a way that the work is reflected correctly on the floor. A gaze still dark (a black portrait of intimacy) 2019 is a notable piece of work where Danie has recreated the picture of his grandmother. The blanket which is used as a background in the original photograph is quite symbolic, as it is not just a background for the photograph but it also represents the fact that the aboriginals have been removed from their original dwelling place which cannot be shown in the photographs. Danie Mellor recreated this picture by placing his grandmother from the original picture to a background of a forest to present the fact that the aboriginals have come from the forest and it is the place from which they belong.
It is interesting to note that he uses blue and gold elements. The use of color blue seems more significant as it is the only color which is not associated with anything bad all around the world. Even the fact that he combines two different images into one gives a new experience and creates harmony between two different things. He also talks about essence of time and ethos of a community and also mapping out of stories is bound up in visual design and art form. Finally he talks about going inside the forest for taking photographs. An empty landscape is a very political one therefore one needs to be careful while going inside.
About the Speaker
Danie Mellor
Contemporary Artist
Sydney
Australia
Danie Mellor is a contemporary artist living and working in Bowral, New South Wales. His multidisciplinary research and practice explore intersections between contemporary and historic culture and the legacies of cultural memory and knowledge. Mellor’s work is held in regional, state, and national collections, including the NGA and MCA Australia, and international museums including the National Gallery of Canada, The British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland. His work has received major awards, acquisitions and commissions including the MCA Australia’s Sculpture Commission in 2019, the National Gallery of Australia Member’s 2019 Acquisition Fund and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2009. He was awarded his PhD from the Australian National University in 2005 and held positions of lecturer and senior lecturer at the National Institute of the Arts, ANU and then Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney. In 2010 he was appointed to the Visual Arts Board at the Australia Council for the Arts and subsequently served as Chair of Artform until 2015. In 2020 he was appointed to the Board of MCA Australia and the Visual Arts Board of Create NSW.
