Robert Andrew: Our mutable histories gives voice and form to the disconnection between Anglo-European and Australian Indigenous history, and the complexity of belonging to two cultures.
Robert Andrew is a Brisbane-based Indigenous artist and descendant of the Yawuru people of the Broome area in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Through his art practice and cultural duality he uncovers, reveals and re-presents aspects of Australian Indigenous history and his own family history which have previously been denied or hidden.
Andrew uses contrasting materials of natural ochres, oxides and chalks alongside contemporary technologies to create and reveal a new landscape known as the ‘third space’ where two cultures collide to form a new and original space. Playful kinetic machines allow water and ochre to create ever-changing textural landscapes and reclaimed materials are beautifully transformed.
The three commissioned works exhibited in Our mutable histories unravel the complexity and the erasure of the artists mixed-heritage with the desire to unearth what lies beneath.
Using technology as a tool with which to speak this exhibition explores issues of identity, the effect of language and forgotten histories.
