{"id":30422,"date":"2018-03-08T14:57:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T14:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aic-iac.org\/?page_id=30422"},"modified":"2023-04-26T11:28:04","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T11:28:04","slug":"5e-iac-day-janet-deboos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.aic-iac.org\/en\/activite\/5e-iac-day\/5e-iac-day-janet-deboos\/","title":{"rendered":"Gained in Translation: Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics in Australasia","raw":"Gained in Translation: Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics in Australasia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"

Mr Jack<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n


Gained in Translation: Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics in Australasia \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Janet DeBoos
<\/span><\/span>Emeritus Professor of Australian National University<\/span><\/p>\n

Janet DeBoos is a ceramic artist and a member of the IAC Council. Her practice is represented in many major public collections. She taught\u00a0at the Australian National University until 2013 and was awarded the title of Emeritus Fellow. She has been invited as Visiting Faculty at many university art schools around the world. Janet DeBoos has authored two best-selling books\u00a0on glaze.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Neither the Maori in New Zealand nor the indigenous Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) had a traditional pottery culture. Clay was used, but for body painting and traditional healing practices. It had significance, but not as a material that could be shaped and moulded, and used to contain things, or shaped to represent other things. This was because the clay itself represented something – it was \u2018Country\u2019. By \u2018Country\u2019 the indigenous people of Australia mean their ancestors, who ARE the country. The hill doesn\u2019t just look like an ancestral lizard- it is the lizard, as other formations are the creation serpent, commonly known as The Rainbow Serpent.<\/p>\n

In the coastal regions of Australia- and especially in the north, there are trees that provide a smooth bark that can be peeled off in certain seasons, and was used as a canvas to paint with naturally coloured clays – ochres. These \u2018barks\u2019 are what is often seen as \u2018Aboriginal Art\u2019, but in fact represents only a small portion of what was produced. The fact that they are transportable meant that they could be commodified in a way that body painting and rock art could not.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Tjimpuna Williams<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n
\"\"

Country (Yulara Resort)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

These bark paintings were made with small twigs, chewed to create a slight bristle at the end, and so are characterised by straight lines in the drawings, rather than the curvilinear nature of desert art. The imagery in them is often also more representative, and depicts marine life such as turtles, crocodiles and fish. Their artists often characterise themselves as \u2018Saltwater men\u2019 (and \u2018men\u2019 because painting was a male artform).<\/p>\n

In this talk we will follow a project that started eleven years ago at an Australian National Ceramics Conference, Verge (Sustainability for the Individual and the Collective) in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

It started at an exhibition of ceramics from three Remote Indigenous Communities that had been curated by a colleague, Geoff Crispin. Geoff had a long history of working on ceramics development projects in Australia, Africa, Indonesia and the West Indies. The exhibition brought together people from Remote Communities in Central Australia and the Tiwi islands to the north of Darwin. Some of the artists had never left their communities, some had travelled widely, but none of them knew ceramic artists from areas other than their own.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n
\"\"

Ngunytjima Carroll throwing<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

They wanted to meet again, and talk with the \u2018other mobs\u2019, so Geoff conceived, planned and assisted them to apply for grant money to undertake such a project. Even the grant application was something of an artwork, as the indigenous Australians have a non-literate culture, and so a video application in which the artists spoke, rather than wrote, was requested, and delivered.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0
\n
\"\"

senior APY Lands artists<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

My role in this project was to provide a link to an educational institution and connections with the broader art world, and so the Australian National University (where I was Head of Ceramics) was brought on board as a partner.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Derek’s Wanapi pot, jingdezhen, China<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The project has continued to this day, changing shape as needs changed and opportunities came up. We have taken the artists to Singapore to participate in the Awaken the Dragon kiln festival, where they exhibited at Red Dot Gallery, and also to China twice, where they worked at Jingdezhen. It is this last cultural exchange that I will focus on, as it has in some ways summed up the intent, and the outcomes of a project that now has its own energy. My role has been reduced to that of occasional technical troubleshooter, liaison for young artists who want to work with communities, or planner when another opportunity comes up. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30378\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2500\"]\"\" Mr Jack[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n


Gained in Translation: Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics in Australasia \u00a0

<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Janet DeBoos
<\/span><\/span>Emeritus Professor of Australian National University<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Janet DeBoos is a ceramic artist and a member of the IAC Council. Her practice is represented in many major public collections. She taught\u00a0at the Australian National University until 2013 and was awarded the title of Emeritus Fellow. She has been invited as Visiting Faculty at many university art schools around the world. Janet DeBoos has authored two best-selling books\u00a0on glaze.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Neither the Maori in New Zealand nor the indigenous Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) had a traditional pottery culture. Clay was used, but for body painting and traditional healing practices. It had significance, but not as a material that could be shaped and moulded, and used to contain things, or shaped to represent other things. This was because the clay itself represented something - it was \u2018Country\u2019. By \u2018Country\u2019 the indigenous people of Australia mean their ancestors, who ARE the country. The hill doesn\u2019t just look like an ancestral lizard- it is the lizard, as other formations are the creation serpent, commonly known as The Rainbow Serpent.<\/p>\r\n

In the coastal regions of Australia- and especially in the north, there are trees that provide a smooth bark that can be peeled off in certain seasons, and was used as a canvas to paint with naturally coloured clays - ochres. These \u2018barks\u2019 are what is often seen as \u2018Aboriginal Art\u2019, but in fact represents only a small portion of what was produced. The fact that they are transportable meant that they could be commodified in a way that body painting and rock art could not.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30389\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1500\"]\"\" Tjimpuna Williams[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30377\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3264\"]\"\" Country (Yulara Resort)[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

These bark paintings were made with small twigs, chewed to create a slight bristle at the end, and so are characterised by straight lines in the drawings, rather than the curvilinear nature of desert art. The imagery in them is often also more representative, and depicts marine life such as turtles, crocodiles and fish. Their artists often characterise themselves as \u2018Saltwater men\u2019 (and \u2018men\u2019 because painting was a male artform).<\/p>\r\n

In this talk we will follow a project that started eleven years ago at an Australian National Ceramics Conference, Verge (Sustainability for the Individual and the Collective) in Brisbane.<\/p>\r\n

It started at an exhibition of ceramics from three Remote Indigenous Communities that had been curated by a colleague, Geoff Crispin. Geoff had a long history of working on ceramics development projects in Australia, Africa, Indonesia and the West Indies. The exhibition brought together people from Remote Communities in Central Australia and the Tiwi islands to the north of Darwin. Some of the artists had never left their communities, some had travelled widely, but none of them knew ceramic artists from areas other than their own.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30380\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1000\"]\"\" Ngunytjima Carroll throwing[\/caption]\r\n

They wanted to meet again, and talk with the \u2018other mobs\u2019, so Geoff conceived, planned and assisted them to apply for grant money to undertake such a project. Even the grant application was something of an artwork, as the indigenous Australians have a non-literate culture, and so a video application in which the artists spoke, rather than wrote, was requested, and delivered.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\u00a0<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30424\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"940\"]\"\" senior APY Lands artists[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

My role in this project was to provide a link to an educational institution and connections with the broader art world, and so the Australian National University (where I was Head of Ceramics) was brought on board as a partner.<\/p>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30392\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2448\"]\"\" Derek's Wanapi pot, jingdezhen, China[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

The project has continued to this day, changing shape as needs changed and opportunities came up. We have taken the artists to Singapore to participate in the Awaken the Dragon kiln festival, where they exhibited at Red Dot Gallery, and also to China twice, where they worked at Jingdezhen. It is this last cultural exchange that I will focus on, as it has in some ways summed up the intent, and the outcomes of a project that now has its own energy. My role has been reduced to that of occasional technical troubleshooter, liaison for young artists who want to work with communities, or planner when another opportunity comes up. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

 <\/p>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Janet DeBoos, Emeritus Professor of Australian National University<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"Janet DeBoos, Emeritus Professor of Australian National University"},"author":4,"featured_media":30378,"parent":30349,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_fr_post_content":"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30378\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2500\"]\"\" Mr Jack[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n


LA C\u00c9RAMIQUE AUTOCHTONE CONTEMPORAINE
EN AUSTRALASIE\u00a0\u00a0

<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Janet DeBoos
<\/span><\/span>Professeur Em\u00e9rite de Australian National University<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Janet DeBoos est une artiste c\u00e9ramiste et membre du Conseil de l\u2019AIC. Ses \u0153uvres sont\u00a0repr\u00e9sent\u00e9es dans de nombreuses collections publiques prestigieuses. Elle a enseign\u00e9 \u00e0 la Australian National University jusqu\u2019en 2013. Janet DeBoos a \u00e9t\u00e9 re\u00e7ue comme professeure invit\u00e9e dans de nombreuses \u00e9coles d\u2019art \u00e0 travers le monde. En outre, elle a sign\u00e9 deux best-sellers sur les \u00e9maux c\u00e9ramique.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Ni les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s Maori en Nouvelle Z\u00e9lande, ni celles des Australiens aborig\u00e8nes autochtones (Aborig\u00e8nes et Iliens du D\u00e9troit de Torres) n'avaient une tradition c\u00e9ramique. L'argile \u00e9tait utilis\u00e9e pour peindre sur le corps ou \u00e0 des fins th\u00e9rapeutiques traditionnelles. Elle avait une signification, mais en tant que mat\u00e9riel \u00e0 mettre en forme et \u00e0 modeler, utilis\u00e9e pour servir de contenant, ou model\u00e9e pour repr\u00e9senter d'autres choses. Mais c'\u00e9tait parce que l'argile elle-m\u00eame repr\u00e9sentait quelque chose - c'\u00e9tait le \"Pays\". Par \"Pays\", les peuples indig\u00e8nes d'Australie d\u00e9signent leurs anc\u00eatres, qui SONT le pays. La colline n'est pas simplement dans un rapport de ressemblance avec un l\u00e9zard ancestral, elle est le l\u00e9zard, comme d'autres formations sont la cr\u00e9ation serpent, commun\u00e9ment connu sous le nom du Serpent Arc-en-ciel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Dans les r\u00e9gions c\u00f4ti\u00e8res d'Australie - et notamment dans le nord, certains arbres fournissent une \u00e9corce souple qui peut \u00eatre r\u00e9colt\u00e9e \u00e0 certaines saisons. Elle \u00e9tait utilis\u00e9e comme canevas pour peindre \u00e0 base d'argiles de couleurs naturelles: des ocres.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

Ces \"\u00e9corces\" sont souvent consid\u00e9r\u00e9es comme constituant L'Art Aborig\u00e8ne. En r\u00e9alit\u00e9, elles ne repr\u00e9sentent qu'une petite part de la production artistique. Le fait d'\u00eatre transportables les rendait commercialisables d'une mani\u00e8re que la peinture sur corps et l'art rupestre n'autorisaient pas.<\/p>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30389\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1500\"]\"\" Tjimpuna Williams[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30377\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3264\"]\"\" Country (Yulara Resort)[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Ces peintures sur \u00e9corces \u00e9taient r\u00e9alis\u00e9es \u00e0 l'aide de petites brindilles, m\u00e2ch\u00e9es pour cr\u00e9er un semblant de pinceau \u00e0 leur extr\u00e9mit\u00e9, et se distinguent par des dessins aux lignes droites, contrastant avec la nature curvilin\u00e9aire de l'art du d\u00e9sert. Leur imagerie est \u00e9galement souvent plus figurative et d\u00e9peint la vie marine, avec des tortues, crocodiles et poissons par exemple. Les artistes se nomment ainsi les \"hommes de l'Eau sal\u00e9e\" (la r\u00e9f\u00e9rence aux \"hommes\" tient au fait que la peinture \u00e9tait une pratique artistique masculine). Au cours de cette pr\u00e9sentation, nous allons suivre un projet qui a d\u00e9but\u00e9, il y a 11 ans, \u00e0 l'occasion d'une Australian National Ceramics Conference (\"Conf\u00e9rence Australienne de C\u00e9ramique Nationale\"), nomm\u00e9 Verge (Sustainability for the Individual and the Collective (\"Rebord (D\u00e9veloppement durable pour l'Individu et le Collectif)\") \u00e0 Brisbane. Le projet a \u00e9t\u00e9 lanc\u00e9 lors d'une exposition de c\u00e9ramiques issues de trois Communaut\u00e9s Autochtones \u00c9loign\u00e9es, exposition curat\u00e9e par mon coll\u00e8gue Geoff Crispin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30380\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1000\"]\"\" Ngunytjima Carroll throwing[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Geoff avait une grande exp\u00e9rience en mati\u00e8re de d\u00e9veloppement de la c\u00e9ramique en Australie, Afrique, Indon\u00e9sie et dans les Antilles. L'exposition a r\u00e9uni des personnes originaires de diff\u00e9rentes r\u00e9gions, des Communtaut\u00e9s \u00c9loign\u00e9es en Australie Centrale au nord de Darwin en passant par les \u00celes Tiwi. Certains artistes n'avaient jamais quitt\u00e9 leur communaut\u00e9, tandis que d'autres avaient beaucoup voyag\u00e9, mais aucun d'eux ne connaissait les artistes c\u00e9ramistes de r\u00e9gions diff\u00e9rentes de la leur.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

Ils souhaitaient se r\u00e9unir \u00e0 nouveau, et parler aux \"autres groupes\", et ainsi Geoff a con\u00e7u et planifi\u00e9 le projet, en les aidant dans leurs demandes de bourses. M\u00eame la demande de fonds \u00e9tait une sorte d'\u0153uvre d'art, car les Australiens autochtones ont une culture orale. Plut\u00f4t qu'un dossier \u00e9crit, c'est une candidature par vid\u00e9o, dans laquelle les artistes parlaient, qui fut remise.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\u00a0\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30424\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"940\"]\"\" senior APY Lands artists[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Pour ce projet, mon r\u00f4le a consist\u00e9 \u00e0 tisser des liens avec une institution d'enseignement et \u00e0 \u00e9tablir des connexions avec le monde de l'art, et c'est ainsi que la Australian National University (\"l'Universit\u00e9 Nationale Australienne\"), dont je dirigeais le D\u00e9partement de C\u00e9ramique, s'est associ\u00e9e en tant que partenaire.<\/p>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30392\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2448\"]\"\" Derek's Wanapi pot, jingdezhen, China[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

Le projet se poursuit aujourd'hui encore. Il a \u00e9volu\u00e9 selon les besoins et les opportunit\u00e9s nouvelles. Nous avons emmen\u00e9 les artistes \u00e0 Singapour pour qu'ils participent au festival Awaken the Dragon kiln (\"R\u00e9veillons le four Dragon\"), o\u00f9 ils ont pu exposer \u00e0 la Red Dot Gallery. Ils se sont \u00e9galement rendus en Chine \u00e0 deux reprises, pour travailler \u00e0 Jingdezhen. C'est sur cet \u00e9change culturel pr\u00e9cis que je vais focaliser ma pr\u00e9sentation car, d'une certaine mani\u00e8re, il a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 les intentions et les r\u00e9sultats d'un projet qui a pris son propre \u00e9lan. Mon r\u00f4le s'est r\u00e9duit \u00e0 celui de m\u00e9diatrice occasionnelle en cas de difficult\u00e9s techniques, d'agent de liaison avec les jeunes artistes qui souhaitent travailler avec les Communaut\u00e9s, ou d'organisatrice quand l'opportunit\u00e9 se pr\u00e9sente.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

 <\/p>","_fr_post_name":"5e-iac-day-janet-deboos","_fr_post_excerpt":"Janet DeBoos, Professeur Em\u00e9rite de Australian National University","_fr_post_title":"LA C\u00c9RAMIQUE AUTOCHTONE CONTEMPORAINE EN AUSTRALASIE","_en_post_content":"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30378\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2500\"]\"\" Mr Jack[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n


Gained in Translation: Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics in Australasia \u00a0

<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Janet DeBoos
<\/span><\/span>Emeritus Professor of Australian National University<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Janet DeBoos is a ceramic artist and a member of the IAC Council. Her practice is represented in many major public collections. She taught\u00a0at the Australian National University until 2013 and was awarded the title of Emeritus Fellow. She has been invited as Visiting Faculty at many university art schools around the world. Janet DeBoos has authored two best-selling books\u00a0on glaze.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Neither the Maori in New Zealand nor the indigenous Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) had a traditional pottery culture. Clay was used, but for body painting and traditional healing practices. It had significance, but not as a material that could be shaped and moulded, and used to contain things, or shaped to represent other things. This was because the clay itself represented something - it was \u2018Country\u2019. By \u2018Country\u2019 the indigenous people of Australia mean their ancestors, who ARE the country. The hill doesn\u2019t just look like an ancestral lizard- it is the lizard, as other formations are the creation serpent, commonly known as The Rainbow Serpent.<\/p>\r\n

In the coastal regions of Australia- and especially in the north, there are trees that provide a smooth bark that can be peeled off in certain seasons, and was used as a canvas to paint with naturally coloured clays - ochres. These \u2018barks\u2019 are what is often seen as \u2018Aboriginal Art\u2019, but in fact represents only a small portion of what was produced. The fact that they are transportable meant that they could be commodified in a way that body painting and rock art could not.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30389\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1500\"]\"\" Tjimpuna Williams[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30377\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3264\"]\"\" Country (Yulara Resort)[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

These bark paintings were made with small twigs, chewed to create a slight bristle at the end, and so are characterised by straight lines in the drawings, rather than the curvilinear nature of desert art. The imagery in them is often also more representative, and depicts marine life such as turtles, crocodiles and fish. Their artists often characterise themselves as \u2018Saltwater men\u2019 (and \u2018men\u2019 because painting was a male artform).<\/p>\r\n

In this talk we will follow a project that started eleven years ago at an Australian National Ceramics Conference, Verge (Sustainability for the Individual and the Collective) in Brisbane.<\/p>\r\n

It started at an exhibition of ceramics from three Remote Indigenous Communities that had been curated by a colleague, Geoff Crispin. Geoff had a long history of working on ceramics development projects in Australia, Africa, Indonesia and the West Indies. The exhibition brought together people from Remote Communities in Central Australia and the Tiwi islands to the north of Darwin. Some of the artists had never left their communities, some had travelled widely, but none of them knew ceramic artists from areas other than their own.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30380\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1000\"]\"\" Ngunytjima Carroll throwing[\/caption]\r\n

They wanted to meet again, and talk with the \u2018other mobs\u2019, so Geoff conceived, planned and assisted them to apply for grant money to undertake such a project. Even the grant application was something of an artwork, as the indigenous Australians have a non-literate culture, and so a video application in which the artists spoke, rather than wrote, was requested, and delivered.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\u00a0<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30424\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"940\"]\"\" senior APY Lands artists[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

My role in this project was to provide a link to an educational institution and connections with the broader art world, and so the Australian National University (where I was Head of Ceramics) was brought on board as a partner.<\/p>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_30392\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2448\"]\"\" Derek's Wanapi pot, jingdezhen, China[\/caption]\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

The project has continued to this day, changing shape as needs changed and opportunities came up. We have taken the artists to Singapore to participate in the Awaken the Dragon kiln festival, where they exhibited at Red Dot Gallery, and also to China twice, where they worked at Jingdezhen. It is this last cultural exchange that I will focus on, as it has in some ways summed up the intent, and the outcomes of a project that now has its own energy. My role has been reduced to that of occasional technical troubleshooter, liaison for young artists who want to work with communities, or planner when another opportunity comes up. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

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