Werna Djooloor

1998_Werna_Djooloor_5.jpg
1998_Werna_Djooloor_7.jpg

Title

Werna Djooloor (dead persons bones)

Date/s

1998

Location

Perth, Western Australia

Discipline

Printmaking

Artist Statement

All across the Western Australian wheat belt, there are stories of the occupation, alienation, and slaughter of the Aboriginal people of Australia. The outright genocide and atrocities that children in particular suffered are unimaginable for some, cogent reality still for others. I have met many "‘stolen generation’ Aboriginal people over the years and the most frightening stories that have been related to me are those involving the dispossession of Aboriginal communities at the hands of anthropologists and ‘bone’ traders’; those people who pose as culturally sensitive museum scientists taking away the remains of Aboriginal people for private consortia collections. This body of printmaking brings together seven (7) large-scale wall-mounted curved surface panels on which the prints adhere. As a collection, they are a formidable reminder for me of that period in time where my naivety often saw me land in warm water, to learn more lessons about what makes up me.

Substrate

Printmaking on BFK paper adhered to wooden panels

Dimensions

170mm (W) x 1050mm (W) x 220mm (D)

Status

Private collection

Links

Download the English to Noongar dictionary [ PDF ]

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