By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A thought-provoking exhibition which timelines the controversial issues that mark the history of Indigenous Australia has come to the Burrinja Cultural Centre.
She’ll Be Right, Mate? exhibits more than 70 cartoons providing a powerful narrative about the story of Australia’s first peoples and the First Fleet, land rights, the Stolen Generations and Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology.
President of the Australian Cartoon Museum Jim Bridges, who has partnered with the centre to bring these issue to light, said the exhibition forces people to reflect and ask questions about the country’s history.
“We live in a country with a short history yet it’s on top of a much longer existing history that some aren’t aware of.
“We hope the exhibit might be able to use cartoons to teach history and force us to think,” he said.
Indigenous heritage of the land dates back as far as 40,000 years ago whereas Europeans, or white Australians, settled just over 220 years ago.
Mr Bridges believes the exhibition plays a critical role in helping the country build a better future by acknowledging the past.
The exhibition showcases original and reproduced pieces from notable cartoonists such as Mark Knight from the Herald Sun newspaper, Peter Nicholson of The Australian, and Michael Leunig and John Spooner from The Age.
It is the time the Australian Cartoon Museum has worked with a public art gallery on an exhibition of this scale.
“Some will make you laugh. Some will make you cry – but they all make you think,” said Burrinja’s curator JD Mittmann.
The exhibition was officially opened on Sunday afternoon by Mr Bridges along with the Minister for Arts, the Hon Heidi Victoria and Yarra Ranges Mayor Fiona McAllister.
It will run for two months until 31 August and will include guided tours, workshops and demonstrations with the cartoonists.
Visit Burrinja Cultural Centre’s website for more information.
