PRIDE, RECOGNITION AND RESILIENCE-Vincent Namatjira, P.P.F (Past-Present-Future), 2021
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PRIDE, RECOGNITION AND
RESILIENCE
– Vincent Namatjira, P.P.F (Past-Present-Future), 2021
CLASS KIT
W mca.com.au/learn
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 2
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Vincent Namatjira is a Western Aranda man from Ntaria
(Hermannsburg, Northern Territory). Born in Mparntwe (Alice
Springs) in 1983, he lives in the community of Indulkana in
the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) region, South
Australia. Namatjira is a painter whose works often depict
himself, as well as national and international political figures and
references to Australia’s colonial history.
Namatjira works at Iwantja Arts, a not for profit, Aboriginal-
owned and run corporation and art centre where studio artists
work across a variety of mediums, such as printmaking and
Vincent Namatjira with preparatory painting for 2021 Circular painting.
Quay Foyer Wall Commission. Image courtesy and © Iwantja Arts.
Photograph: Heath Aaron
Class kit content
This resource contains creative learning activities about some of
the figures in Namatjira’s Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission
P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (2021). They are organised in three
themes: pride, recognition and resilience. The class kit also
contains activities for learning about two MCA Collection artists,
Ryan Presley and Megan Cope.
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 3
ABOUT THE CIRCULAR QUAY FOYER WALL COMMISSION
The Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission is an ongoing
program of wall works commissioned for the Circular Quay foyer.
The Museum of Contempoaray Art Australia (MCA) works with
artists to realise new, temporary wall works that respond to the
unique dimensions, location and history of this site.
The foyer wall is 15-metres long and faces the harbour. It is
visible from as far away as Circular Quay train station and is
seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Past works
in this series have included paintings, printed fabric, and glued
mirrored disks.
Clothilde Bullen, the MCA’s Senior Curator of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions, commissioned
Vincent Namatjira to be part of this series in 2021. Clothilde
Bullen is a Wardandi (Nyoongar) and Badimaya (Yamatji) woman
with English/French heritage. Vincent Namatjira’s work was
Vincent Namatjira
P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (detail) 2021 painted directly on the wall in February 2021.
synthetic polymer paint
commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021,
The Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission is supported by Veolia.
supported by Veolia Environmental Services.
Image courtesy and © the artist
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 4
Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you.
Focus first on the loud, obvious sounds, then try to hear
the quiet, subtle sounds.
The MCA is located on the land and waters of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The site on which the MCA
stands is known as Tallawoladah in Gadigal. In English it is known as The Rocks. Tallawoladah is where the First
Fleet landed in 1788. It is therefore the location of colonial First Contact.
• Imagine the land where you are as it was before there were any
houses, cars or city skylines. What sounds would you hear?
• Now think about this place far into the future. What sounds would
you still like to hear?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
OF COUNTRY
At the MCA, we acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the ACTIVITY
land and waters upon which the MCA stands. Find out what Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islands
Nation or Country you are on and acknowledge the custodians of this land.
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 5 Vincent Namatjira P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) 2021 synthetic polymer paint commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, supported by Veolia Environmental Services. Image courtesy and © the artist
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 6
PRIDE
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 7 In Vincent Namatjira’s mural, he paints himself holding the Aboriginal flag and pointing out to Warrang (Circular Quay), a place that always was, always is and always will be on Gadigal land. Flags can be powerful representations of people and places. They use colour, imagery and symbolism to represent histories, cultures and meanings. Work in small groups and design a flag using only three colours that represents your class. It can be any design that you want. • Think about the colour palette of your flag and what each colour could represent. • Think about what symbols or imagery you might choose to show on your flag. • After designing your flag, think of three words that express the meaning in your flag. WARM-UP
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 8
The Aboriginal Flag
The Australian Aboriginal flag was designed by Harold
Thomas, a Luritja man from Alice Springs, in 1970 and
first flown in Adelaide on 12 July 1971. Its design and use
was originally associated with the national land rights
movements, however it has since been made an official
‘Flag of Australia’. The flag was flown at the Aboriginal
Tent Embassy in 1972 in front of Parliament House in
Canberra. This event is a key moment in Australian civil
rights history, as it was part of wider protests about
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island land rights.
Recently, the reprinting of the Aboriginal flag has
received national attention due to its misuse under
copyright law. The flag’s design is currently licensed
to a private clothing company. An Australian Senate
inquiry is being undertaken to determine whether the
federal government should purchase the license to
Vincent Namatjira allow its reproduction by any party.
P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (detail) 2021
synthetic polymer paint
commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021,
supported by Veolia Environmental Services.
Image courtesy and © the artist
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 9
“ The Aboriginal flag for me
represents pride, resilience and
recognition. The Aboriginal flag
symbolises who I am, and what I am
proud of. For me to hold this flag on
this big wall and for other
Aboriginal and Torres Strait people
to see it, they will feel like they are
proud also.
” Vincent Namatjira, MCA, Sydney, 2019
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 10
Namatjira discusses that for him, the Aboriginal flag symbolises pride, reslience and recognition.
By including the flag in the mural, the artist hopes to share this pride with other Aboriginal people
and Torres Strait Islanders.
How does the flag that you designed make you feel? Who
might share these feelings when looking at your flag?
• How do the elements of your flag promote or symoblise these feelings?
• Who might not share these same feelings when viewing your flag?
• Look at the flags designed by other groups. What emotions do they
bring up for you? Are they the same or different to your flag?
• Does your flag make you feel pride? Why or why not?
DISCUSSIONMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 11
“
Forever in my blood, etched bleeding into my flesh
I remember when you wept red; the pain
Little more than an itch;
Wept, darker red than the scarlet of the ink
I wear a flag
I have it needle-stuck and inked
Up in my skin
My skin is a flag
Without the ink
Not flagged enough.
Without you, flag, my skin is slick, too pale
People might not know who I am I say to them, ‘this flag is my identity’
Red, yellow, black I say to them, ‘this ink forever’.
My skin forever, flag. I say to them, ‘I will die before
I lay down my flag’.
The yellow, the sun, is fading
The red, the ground, the black, I Claire G. Coleman, Forever, Flag, 2020
Still strong, the bloodlines.
Someone once said, ‘wow, that’s committed’.
Someone once said, ‘you could pass as white’.
A blackfella once said, ‘welcome to my Country sister’
He saw my blackfella flag first
He saw my Noongar face after.
LISTENMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 12
Forever, Flag, 2020 by Claire G. Coleman
Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar poet, art writer, essayist
and author. Her family is from the south west coast
of Western Australia. Coleman now lives and works in
Naarm (Melbourne).
Coleman’s poems have been published in the Australian
Poetry Journal and by Red Room Poetry. Her first novel
Terra Nullius won the 2018 Norma K Hemming Award
for excellence in the exploration of themes of race,
gender, sexuality, class or disability in speculative fiction.
The book was written on the road during Coleman’s
extensive travels across the country in a caravan.
In addition, she has been a speaker at many writers
festivals and interviewed on ABC Radio National
and a guest on podcasts such as It’s Not a Race and
Claire G. Coleman, photo by Jen Dainer, Queerstories. She is also a consultant for the cultural
Industrial Arc advisory committee for not-for-profit Aboriginal Arts
consultancy Agency.MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 13 Both Namatjira and Coleman feature the Aboriginal flag in their works P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) and Forever, Flag. How have Namatjira and Coleman shown their pride for the Aboriginal flag in their works? • What visual or written language have they used to convey this pride? • Think about the context surrounding the Aboriginal flag in each of the works. Where and how are they presented? • How and when can a flag create pride? Think about what flags you associate with and where you see them. Who else might share this pride? • Look back at the your flag designs. Imagine in 20 years’ time you see your fellow classmates. How might you and your classmates feel about DIG DEEPER the flags you designed back then?
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 14
RECOGNITIONMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 15 Namatjira has painted a figure of an Aboriginal stockman in his mural to represent the contributions of stockmen and highlight their underrepresentation in mainstream Australian history. Is there someone in your family or community who you think deserves recognition? What important things have they done? • Share a story about this person with someone in your class. Ask the person you shared it with to try to retell the story back to you. • Stories are an important way for us to communicate things that are important to us. They can tell the listener something about our personality, our past and our community. After listening to the retelling of your story, what do you think your story might reveal about you? WARM-UP
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 16
Aboriginal Stockmen
The stockman in Namatjira’s mural is a tribute to past
and present leaders who don’t have one identifiable
name or face but are a collective of strong Black
brothers who are role models within their own
communities. Namatjira shares his inspirations showing
his love and pride in his culture. He hopes that by
sharing this artwork it will be a source of pride for other
Indigenous Australians who come to see it.
Listen to Namatjira speak about the figure of the
stockman below. You can also read the quote on the
following slide.
Vincent Namatjira
P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (detail) 2021 LISTEN
synthetic polymer paint
commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021,
supported by Veolia Environmental Services.
Image courtesy and © the artistMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 17
“ I painted an image also in the painting of an Indigenous male figure
riding a horse. This one here is a tribute to old Tjilpis and the old Aywe,
for the old people. That’s why I painted this horse. It’s not just for the
APY Tjilpis, it’s for all Indigenous old Tjilpis.
Back in the old days, the old men used to ride horses and they used
to do mustering. It was a hard life for the old men back then. These
horses, they go way back, way back. They’re in the wars of Australia;
they’re for cowboys; they’re from the mission; and they’re also iconic.
This Indigenous cowboy is also a reference to a film we made
at Iwantja, Never Stop Riding. And yes, I do ride horses, back at
Hermannsburg, but not at Indulkana.
” Vincent Namatjira, MCA, Sydney, 2019MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 18
This activity encourages you to listen to each other and recognise the importance of oral history.
1. Think of an important story in your life that has shaped who you are. Take some time to think about how you will
tell this story, including the emotion, humour or weight of each part.
2. Find someone to share stories with. Take turns telling your story and listening. As you listen to your partner’s
story, write down notes to keep track of the important and emotional parts of their story.
3. Once you have both shared your story, find another pair of students. Now take turns telling your partner’s story.
Try to inject it with as much emotion, humour and gravity as they used in telling the story to you.
• Take this activity to a member of your family or someone you
know in your local community. Ask them about an important story
in their life.
ACTIVITYMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 19 Ryan Presley Blood Money Blood Money–Infinite Dollar Note–Dundalli Commemorative, 2017 Watercolour on arches paper. Collection of Bernard Shafer, Melbourne. Image courtesy and © the artist. Photograph: Carl Warner
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 20
Recognition in Blood Money, 2019
Ryan Presley was born in 1987 in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). He
is a Mari Ngarr man and lives and works in Brisbane.
Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal (2019) is a
participatory installation that recreates a currency exchange
booth. In January 2019, MCA visitors could exchange
Australian dollars for Blood Money Dollars as part of the
Sydney Festival. The Bloody Money Dollars were small prints of
Presley’s Blood Money series of watercolour paintings.
In the series, Presley replaced figures from Australia’s colonial
history on the national currency with leaders, activists, warriors
and writers from Aboriginal history such as Fanny Balbuk
Yooreel, Dundalli and Pemulwuy.
For Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal, Presley set
the rate of exchange at the Blood Money Currency Exchange
Terminal each day, where Australian currency could be
converted for limited edition $10, $20, $50 and $100 Blood
Money Dollar prints. The money raised was donated to
Ryan Presley
Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal, 2019 Aboriginal youth organisations. Watch the video on the next
Installation view, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, slide to learn more about the artwork.
performance, mixed media, presented in association with Sydney Festival.
Image courtesy and © the artist. Photograph: Jacquie ManningMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 21 Ryan Presley, Primavera 2018: Young Australian Artists (artist interview) Opens external link to video
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 22 In their art, both Presley and Namatjira recognise the positive impact Indigenous leaders have made to this country. Their work offers us a chance to recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have been previously overlooked. Which Black leaders do you know of in Australia? What achievements of theirs would you like to share? Share this with a classmate. • How are their achievements recognised? • Do you think their achievements are properly recognised? Why or why not? • Take some time to research some of the Indigenous leaders in Presley or Namatjira’s works. • Share an oral history: tell someone about a Black leader you have learned DISCUSSION about today from a classmate or from your research.
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 23
RESILIENCEMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 24
As a class, formulate a working definition of ‘resilience’.
• In which contexts have you heard of resilience?
• How is resilience shown or put into practice? What helps to build
resilience and what impacts negatively on resilience?
WARM-UPMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 25
Adam Goodes
Namatjira has painted Adam Goodes in the middle of the mural. Goodes
is an Andyamathanha and Norungga man who is a former elite AFL
player. Goodes was twice awarded the Brownlow Medal for the best and
fairest player per season. From 2013 until his retirement from AFL, he
was the target of sustained racist ‘booing’ by spectators, as well as racist
commentary by radio and television presenters. This led to a national
debate about racism in Australia, in sport and wider society. Although
Goodes was at the centre of this national debate and his football legacy
was on the line, he remained resilient and stood up for what he believed in.
In 2009, he set up The Goodes-O’Loughlin Foundation with his cousin
and former teammate Michael O’Loughlin to advocate for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students and graduates by providing scholarships
and advising workplaces on cultural safety1.
In 2014, Goodes was named Australian of the Year for his anti-racism work
and advocacy for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Goodes also advises various organisations, such as retailer David Jones
and property developer Lend Lease on their Reconciliation Action Plans
(RAP)2.
Vincent Namatjira 1 Cultural safety is defined as “an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally
safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault challenge or denial of
P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (detail) 2021 their identity, of who they are and what they need.” Williams, R. (1999). Cultural safety –
synthetic polymer paint
what does it mean for our work practice? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public
commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021,
Health, 23(2), 213-214.
supported by Veolia Environmental Services.
Image courtesy and © the artist 2 https://www.anzsog.edu.au/about/contact-directory/adam-goodesMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 26
“ ...seeing the racism that Adam [Goodes]
faced reminded me of some hard
experiences that I had growing up in the
foster system, disconnected from culture
and Country. And I experienced a lot of
racism and discrimination. It takes a lot of
courage to stand up to racism, so I greatly
admire Adam for the way he stood up and
said ‘enough is enough’.
” Vincent Namatjira, MCA, Sydney, 2019MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 27 Megan Cope Foundations III (detail) 2020 Installation view, MCA Collection: Perspectives on place, MCA, 2021. Native oyster shells, cast concrete. Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2020. Image courtesy and © the artist. Photograph: Anna Kučera
MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 28
Resilience in Foundations III, 2020
Megan Cope was born in 1982 in Brisbane. She is a
Quandamooka woman (North Stradbroke Island). Cope’s artwork
Foundations III relates to the history of Aboriginal architectural
sites made of oyster shells along the eastern seaboard of
Australia, including at Tallawoladah – the rocky headland
of Warrang (Sydney Cove) where the MCA is located. Such
oyster shell sites are commonly known as middens. They
are mounds formed from the residues of communal and cultural
life, including meals. They represent a cumulative record of
Aboriginal family life over millennia. Cope considers them a form
of Aboriginal architecture and a physical marker of significant
cultural space; she argues against using the word midden as it is
Karla Dickens, Ginger and Megan Cope (far right) at home in Lismore, 2020. a derogatory term deriving from Old English for ‘dung heap’.3
Image courtesy and © the artist.
Cope’s choice of materials invokes the destruction of the oyster
shell sites during the early colonial period. They were mined
by colonisers for limestone, which was then burned to make
mortar for buildings. This practice was integral to establishing
the colony at Tallawoladah, which has since evolved into an
urban grid: a formation echoed in the serial arrangement of the
work.
• 3 E Buttrose, ‘Megan Cope’s ‘Re-formation’ takes the oyster shell as its subject’, 8
January 2020, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern ArtMCA Pride, recognition and resilience 29
Cope’s works with oyster shells aim to reveal a ‘layer of history that is invisible’ and through her
work she continues to ‘try to explore other ways of decolonising our minds and histories’.4
Through their artworks, both Cope and Namatjira both challenge the wider narrative, and
highlight the importance in persevering with difficult conversations.
How do the artists use materials, scale, and site to
convey their message?
• Why do you think that Namatjira, Cope and Goodes continue to
challenge and stand up against the mainstream narrative?
• Looking at your definition of resilience, how have they shown
resilience through their work?
DISCUSSION
4 Megan Cope Artist Talk, 2017, IMA, https://ima.org.au/ima-events/artist-talk-me-
gan-cope/MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 30
In this activity, write a short three-line stanza or rap about resilience, then perform it in trios.
1. Think of a moment when you have shown resilience in your life. It might on the sporting field, something you did
at school, or at home.
2. Write down three lines which tell the story of this moment. Think about how you can show your reslience
through the words and rhythms you choose.
3. Form groups of 3. One person performs their stanza or rap. One person has the role of ‘hyping’ the rapper. 5 The
third person uses their body to make 3 formations or movements that responds to the performance.
4. Rotate roles and repeat this process with each person’s stanza or rap. You can also experiment with combining
your lines into a multi-person hip-hop verse that introduces the resilience of your group.
• What were the similarities and differences in each member’s rap or stanza?
• How did it feel to have your group members support your story during your
performance?
• Has your understanding of resilience changed? If yes, how?
ACTIVITY
5 ‘Hyping’ is a term from hip hop and rap cultures. To hype someone is to support a rapper or MC and to
excite the audience for the rapper’s performance.MCA Pride, recognition and resilience 31
Find more class kits, activities and
resources on the MCA website! THANK YOU!
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