GALLERY 1
FOYER SPACE
THE ERROR OF DIALOGUE
DOMINIQUE PLUMANNS
In my art practice I am interested in the exploration and identification through the visual dialogue of the liminal space between cultures, in particular between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures. I am interested in the place of creative uncertainty and how we define our cultural reality and identity. In this work I attempt to explore the construction and maintenance of a reality by examining what makes the dialogue difficult. By acknowledging the need for a decolonisation process I aim to investigate how we separate and alienate ourselves from our humanity through the denial of violence.
The story of Annie Karrakayn, an Aboriginal elder from the Gulf of Carpentaria, who on hearing the word landscape said: “what is this word ‘landscape’? Is it another whitefella word that needs a wheelbarrow to carry?” inspired me. What Annie meant by her comment was that some words used by white English speakers are not known or used by indigenous people. Such terms are seen as comprising of ‘secret’ or ‘restricted’ speech that implies power and authority over the land and the people who live there. Similarly we know those words as ‘weasel’ words, words that are used as a repressive tool.
