Making revisions
Indigenous knowledge and art overwrite colonial cartography to correct the historical record in Central Australia - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
When European settlers arrived in Australia, they believed the land was vacant and therefore open for them to conquer. This belief, shared among many colonies, disconnected Indigenous peoples from the landscapes that held profound cultural and spiritual significance for them. Central Australia, too, fell victim to this doctrine of 'terra nullius', a justification for British claims over the continent that rendered the land ownerless, oblivious to the millennia-long presence of Aboriginal communities.
To delve into this history, British artist Patrick Waterhouse teamed up with the Warlukurlangu art centre. Over several years, he worked closely with Warlpiri artists from Yuendumu and Nyirripi, inviting them to engage with colonial documents and maps through their unique visual languages. The documentary illustrates this process, the dialogues sparked by these historical materials, and the compelling artworks that result from the fusion of colonial cartography and Indigenous knowledge and art.
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