The fluorescent lighting provided a soft halo on the various works in front of me. I
find myself standing in a small room with about 12 works of art, all in different mediums.
Some pieces are enormous with bold colors and a hidden political message while
others take up less space and are a little more than meets the eye. This was my first
time visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales and I wasn’t disappointed with my
experience. The exhibit in question was held in the Yiribana Gallery, entitled Our
Lands, an exhibit that showcased original artworks from contemporary Aboriginal/
Torres Strait Islander artists. The term “Yiribana”, translating to “this way” pays tribute
to the Eora people, who once inhabited the land in which …show more content…
The works that personally touched me and left a bigger impact, tended to be the ones that
dappled with themes of personal identity and what that means to be an Aboriginal person.
I remember coming across Gordon Bennett’s Myth of the Western Man(white mans burden)
1992 and being instantly mesmerized by the color scheme. At first glance, the onlooker can see
that the painting accurately portrays the colors present in the white settlers flag, prominent
shades of blue, white and red are present. Stepping back a few paces, you can see a vignette of
what appears to be a white man holding what looks like a flagpole as a symbol of colonization.
Various dates are depicted on the canvas, starting in 1788 the year of the first colony to 1992, the
year the artwork was produced. All these dates serve as representations of further colonization
by the British as well as violent acts against Aboriginal people, such as the infamous Myall
Creek massacre.
Myth of the Western Man(White mans burden) is a 175.5 x 304.3 cm synthetic polymer paint
on canvas piece created by Gordon Bennett in 1992. Benett was born in Monto, Queensland in
1955 and attended art school at the Queensland College of Art, graduating with a BFA in
find myself standing in a small room with about 12 works of art, all in different mediums.
Some pieces are enormous with bold colors and a hidden political message while
others take up less space and are a little more than meets the eye. This was my first
time visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales and I wasn’t disappointed with my
experience. The exhibit in question was held in the Yiribana Gallery, entitled Our
Lands, an exhibit that showcased original artworks from contemporary Aboriginal/
Torres Strait Islander artists. The term “Yiribana”, translating to “this way” pays tribute
to the Eora people, who once inhabited the land in which …show more content…
The works that personally touched me and left a bigger impact, tended to be the ones that
dappled with themes of personal identity and what that means to be an Aboriginal person.
I remember coming across Gordon Bennett’s Myth of the Western Man(white mans burden)
1992 and being instantly mesmerized by the color scheme. At first glance, the onlooker can see
that the painting accurately portrays the colors present in the white settlers flag, prominent
shades of blue, white and red are present. Stepping back a few paces, you can see a vignette of
what appears to be a white man holding what looks like a flagpole as a symbol of colonization.
Various dates are depicted on the canvas, starting in 1788 the year of the first colony to 1992, the
year the artwork was produced. All these dates serve as representations of further colonization
by the British as well as violent acts against Aboriginal people, such as the infamous Myall
Creek massacre.
Myth of the Western Man(White mans burden) is a 175.5 x 304.3 cm synthetic polymer paint
on canvas piece created by Gordon Bennett in 1992. Benett was born in Monto, Queensland in
1955 and attended art school at the Queensland College of Art, graduating with a BFA in