0:00:04.116,0:00:06.774 Over 30 years ago, in 1987, 0:00:07.050,0:00:09.828 I set up a small art gallery in London. 0:00:10.068,0:00:14.582 It was a modest affair[br]in a little shop space in Fitzrovia - 0:00:14.582,0:00:19.134 at then, at that time, a bohemian[br]and rather rundown quarter of London. 0:00:19.564,0:00:22.884 The inspiration and impetus[br]behind this venture 0:00:22.884,0:00:26.674 was my desire to show[br]Aboriginal art in London. 0:00:27.304,0:00:30.277 It was at the time relatively unknown. 0:00:31.497,0:00:33.301 Astonishingly to say, 0:00:33.301,0:00:34.645 and shockingly to say, 0:00:34.645,0:00:38.664 when I was born in Melbourne in 1955, 0:00:38.664,0:00:43.136 Aboriginal people were not full citizens[br]of their own country. 0:00:43.426,0:00:45.870 They were wards of the state, 0:00:45.870,0:00:47.554 and as wards of the state, 0:00:47.554,0:00:51.681 they were not able to marry[br]or to travel without permission. 0:00:51.681,0:00:53.798 They were not allowed to own property, 0:00:53.798,0:00:58.181 and they were not even legally responsible[br]for their own children. 0:00:58.901,0:01:01.049 And it was not until I was 12 0:01:01.049,0:01:04.632 that in 1967, a referendum was held, 0:01:04.632,0:01:06.735 and the Australian people voted 0:01:06.735,0:01:10.613 that aboriginals could be counted[br]amongst its citizens. 0:01:11.200,0:01:13.215 And yet despite this, 0:01:13.215,0:01:15.231 people living in the white - 0:01:15.231,0:01:18.547 the white Europeans[br]living in these coastal cities 0:01:18.547,0:01:21.737 were still not interested[br]in Aboriginal people. 0:01:21.737,0:01:22.745 And to them, 0:01:22.745,0:01:24.873 they remained largely invisible. 0:01:24.873,0:01:26.537 They had no voice, 0:01:26.537,0:01:29.271 and they had no one willing to listen. 0:01:29.981,0:01:33.445 So, standing in front[br]of these paintings in Alice Springs, 0:01:33.445,0:01:36.110 I was full of a sense of wonder: 0:01:36.110,0:01:37.774 How had this happened? 0:01:37.774,0:01:40.535 They were postcards from another world. 0:01:41.505,0:01:45.700 And although Aboriginal art[br]was certainly new at that time to me - 0:01:45.700,0:01:47.805 and new to many Australians - 0:01:47.805,0:01:49.934 it was also old. 0:01:50.174,0:01:51.502 Very old. 0:01:51.502,0:01:56.708 In fact, it's the oldest continuous[br]artistic tradition in the world, 0:01:56.708,0:02:01.802 stretching back in an unbroken line[br]some 50,000 years - 0:02:01.998,0:02:04.255 far longer than Stonehenge, 0:02:04.255,0:02:06.630 than the pyramids of ancient Egypt 0:02:07.020,0:02:09.221 or of the caves of Lascaux - 0:02:09.221,0:02:12.520 but also, at the same time,[br]it was very new. 0:02:12.940,0:02:17.405 These paintings, the traditional designs, 0:02:17.405,0:02:20.694 had been painted on bodies in ceremonies, 0:02:21.374,0:02:23.092 using natural ochre. 0:02:23.092,0:02:28.866 They had been made[br]as huge, grand mosaics in the sand 0:02:29.061,0:02:32.447 and carved into trees[br]and painted on rocks. 0:02:32.447,0:02:35.982 But they were ephemeral and fugitive. 0:02:35.982,0:02:42.482 And, as I realized in Alice Springs,[br]a huge change had taken place. 0:02:42.482,0:02:45.035 In a great act of generosity, 0:02:45.035,0:02:51.524 Aboriginal people had set down their art[br]in a permanent and portable form - 0:02:51.524,0:02:53.505 on paper, on canvas. 0:02:53.505,0:02:55.157 And what's more, 0:02:55.157,0:02:58.982 they had allowed us, uninitiated people, 0:02:58.982,0:03:00.206 to see it. 0:03:00.597,0:03:03.879 And this was a great[br]and extraordinary development 0:03:03.879,0:03:06.317 that had happened[br]since I had left the country. 0:03:06.857,0:03:12.150 And it had begun in a little place[br]called Papunya in 1971. 0:03:13.010,0:03:15.222 In the '60s, the Australian government, 0:03:15.222,0:03:17.834 in an effort to assimilate[br]the Aboriginals, 0:03:17.834,0:03:19.984 had built settlements in the desert, 0:03:19.984,0:03:22.460 and they had rounded[br]up the Aboriginal people 0:03:22.460,0:03:26.025 and forced them into[br]these barbed wire encampments. 0:03:26.025,0:03:29.071 Papunya was built for 500 people, 0:03:29.071,0:03:31.762 but a thousand Aboriginals[br]were put in there, 0:03:31.762,0:03:34.312 often people from different[br]language groups 0:03:34.312,0:03:37.342 who for millennia had perhaps been at war 0:03:37.342,0:03:39.832 and didn't want to live[br]in close proximity. 0:03:40.572,0:03:44.377 People deprived of their right[br]to roam across the land 0:03:44.377,0:03:45.942 and follow their songlines 0:03:45.942,0:03:48.617 sat in despair in the sand. 0:03:48.937,0:03:52.278 Into this depressing scene of despair, 0:03:52.278,0:03:53.604 in 1971, 0:03:53.604,0:03:56.921 a young schoolteacher[br]from New South Wales, 0:03:56.921,0:03:58.233 Geoffrey Bardon, 0:03:58.233,0:04:01.145 came to take up a post[br]at the Papunya school. 0:04:02.225,0:04:06.851 Geoffrey was entranced by the countryside[br]that he saw around Papunya 0:04:06.851,0:04:08.935 and the beautiful rock formations. 0:04:08.935,0:04:10.478 And he was also intrigued 0:04:10.478,0:04:14.845 as he watched the schoolchildren[br]drawing in the sand in their break 0:04:14.845,0:04:18.026 and telling stories to one another[br]using their fingers. 0:04:19.072,0:04:23.694 The old men watched his interest,[br]and they were delighted. 0:04:23.694,0:04:24.981 It has to be said 0:04:24.981,0:04:29.008 that at that time in Australia[br]it was almost apartheid. 0:04:29.298,0:04:31.842 The European people[br]working at the settlements - 0:04:31.842,0:04:35.703 the health workers, the garage mechanics[br]and the shopkeepers - 0:04:35.703,0:04:37.694 had no truck with the Aboriginals 0:04:37.694,0:04:40.144 and no interest[br]in engaging with them at all. 0:04:40.618,0:04:45.471 So Geoffrey's interest was something[br]really special to the old men. 0:04:45.471,0:04:48.582 And encouraged by it, [br]they started talking to him. 0:04:48.582,0:04:50.778 And you see them - 0:04:50.778,0:04:55.035 you will see him sitting here[br]with old Long Tom Onion. 0:04:55.035,0:04:57.406 And the men explained to him 0:04:57.406,0:05:01.608 how the land had been created[br]by ancestors in the past. 0:05:02.098,0:05:04.648 And Geoffrey suddenly thought, 0:05:04.648,0:05:06.298 'This is astonishing. 0:05:06.298,0:05:11.598 Why is it that I am teaching[br]the children Western things 0:05:11.598,0:05:15.464 when we're not even acknowledging[br]this extraordinary culture 0:05:15.464,0:05:17.725 of which they are a part?' 0:05:17.945,0:05:21.017 And so, in consultation with the old men, 0:05:21.017,0:05:25.398 it was decided to paint a mural[br]on the school wall at Papunya. 0:05:25.398,0:05:29.301 The minute the idea[br]of painting the mural was mooted, 0:05:29.301,0:05:32.164 the whole mood of the community changed. 0:05:32.164,0:05:34.950 No longer did people sit in despair. 0:05:34.950,0:05:39.135 They started excitedly talking[br]about what would be an appropriate story 0:05:39.135,0:05:40.379 to paint on the wall. 0:05:40.379,0:05:42.824 Something that could be seen by everybody, 0:05:42.824,0:05:45.167 not just the initiated. 0:05:45.167,0:05:48.925 And eventually, it was decided[br]to paint the Honey Ant Mural. 0:05:48.925,0:05:54.526 And you see it here, painted in 1971,[br]on the school wall at Papunya. 0:05:54.956,0:05:58.194 Geoffrey had unleashed this torrent. 0:05:58.194,0:06:02.824 And all across the desert,[br]news of it spread like wildfire. 0:06:03.031,0:06:05.866 The next community[br]to take up the paintbrushes 0:06:05.866,0:06:07.281 was Yuendumu. 0:06:07.511,0:06:09.414 The Warlpiri people there 0:06:09.414,0:06:13.599 had been forced to live[br]in little, hot, tin Porsche cabins 0:06:13.599,0:06:16.414 sent up by the government[br]in an effort to civilize them. 0:06:16.414,0:06:19.331 And so their first act[br]of cultural resurgence 0:06:19.331,0:06:22.764 was to paint the doors[br]of these little hot tin cabins, 0:06:22.764,0:06:25.962 although why it was deemed[br]a civilizing influence 0:06:25.962,0:06:28.968 to live in a hot tin box[br]when it's regularly 40 degrees 0:06:28.968,0:06:30.575 I don't know. 0:06:30.575,0:06:34.985 But one thing united[br]these disparate artists, 0:06:34.985,0:06:40.914 and that was that the genesis[br]of all their painting came from the land. 0:06:41.075,0:06:44.220 This was something very different[br]for the white settlers. 0:06:44.220,0:06:48.375 The interior of Australia[br]was regarded as something hostile 0:06:48.375,0:06:50.310 and something very, very frightening. 0:06:50.570,0:06:53.111 And you can see here 0:06:53.111,0:06:56.792 a Western cartographer's view[br]of the Great Sandy Desert, 0:06:56.792,0:06:59.158 a vast, featureless plain: 0:06:59.158,0:07:00.917 no distinguishing features, 0:07:00.917,0:07:05.977 no mountains, no rocks, no rivers,[br]no streams and no lakes. 0:07:06.817,0:07:13.757 And this is an Aboriginal vision[br]of exactly the same piece of country. 0:07:15.064,0:07:17.899 But it is important also to realise 0:07:17.899,0:07:22.124 that Aboriginal culture[br]is not a single, homogeneous entity. 0:07:22.334,0:07:28.078 This is Australia as it was[br]when first encountered by the European. 0:07:28.078,0:07:32.497 And all these different colours[br]represent different language groups. 0:07:32.667,0:07:34.971 Of course, some of them have gone, 0:07:34.971,0:07:36.918 but many have remained. 0:07:36.918,0:07:39.642 And the art from these different places 0:07:39.642,0:07:41.266 is quite as distinctive 0:07:41.266,0:07:44.500 as the different languages[br]and different physical appearances 0:07:44.500,0:07:46.685 of the people that live in them. 0:07:47.135,0:07:52.067 One of the first exhibitions[br]I did in my little gallery in Fitzrovia 0:07:52.067,0:07:56.812 was by the great Anmatyerre artist[br]from Papunya, Clifford Possum. 0:07:57.195,0:08:01.977 I had met Clifford in a creek bed[br]on my visit to Alice Springs. 0:08:02.577,0:08:04.644 And he was sitting under a tree, 0:08:04.804,0:08:05.969 and I said to him, 0:08:05.969,0:08:09.265 'Clifford, would you like to have[br]an exhibition in London?' 0:08:09.495,0:08:11.899 He looked at me for a long time, 0:08:12.389,0:08:15.264 and then he went, 'Queen'. 0:08:15.264,0:08:16.951 And I went, 'Yes, of course. 0:08:16.951,0:08:19.934 Of course, you can meet the Queen[br]if you come to London'. 0:08:19.934,0:08:21.858 So he looked at me for a long time, 0:08:21.858,0:08:24.564 and then he went, 'Okay'. 0:08:24.564,0:08:26.341 I sent him the money for an airfare, 0:08:26.341,0:08:27.372 and a year later, 0:08:27.372,0:08:29.534 I went to pick him up at Heathrow. 0:08:29.534,0:08:32.667 And he arrived in his cowboy hat[br]and cowboy shirt. 0:08:32.927,0:08:36.559 When no sooner had we got in the car[br]to go back to the gallery, 0:08:36.559,0:08:38.622 then he said, 'Queen'. 0:08:38.622,0:08:42.124 And of course, I had forgotten my promise[br]that he could meet the Queen. 0:08:42.124,0:08:46.101 But thinking that it would be so exciting[br]for him to be in London 0:08:46.101,0:08:49.388 and if we drove past Buckingham Palace[br]that would be enough, 0:08:49.388,0:08:50.404 so we did. 0:08:50.404,0:08:51.971 And as we drove past, 0:08:51.971,0:08:54.538 I said, ‘Clifford,[br]that is where the Queen lives’, 0:08:54.538,0:08:57.918 and he went, 'In. In'. 0:08:57.918,0:09:00.068 (Laughter) 0:09:00.068,0:09:02.085 And then the penny dropped 0:09:02.085,0:09:06.436 that I, like generations[br]of Europeans before me, 0:09:06.436,0:09:09.635 had promised something 0:09:09.635,0:09:15.041 that I had no intention and no ability[br]to deliver to an Aboriginal person, 0:09:15.301,0:09:19.261 and that he, on the strength[br]of my promise, had trusted me. 0:09:19.261,0:09:22.451 And as an elder of the Anmatyerre people, 0:09:22.451,0:09:26.408 he was going to come to Britain[br]to meet the leader of the British people. 0:09:26.698,0:09:27.699 And I realised 0:09:27.699,0:09:31.431 he would lose tremendous face[br]if that was not the case. 0:09:32.331,0:09:35.412 That night was the opening[br]of his exhibition. 0:09:35.412,0:09:37.940 It was an astonishing affair. 0:09:37.940,0:09:42.673 These extraordinary, beautiful,[br]mythopoetic canvases 0:09:42.673,0:09:46.232 with strange, seemingly abstract designs 0:09:46.232,0:09:48.980 coming from the middle of the desert. 0:09:48.980,0:09:51.437 People were entranced and intrigued, 0:09:51.437,0:09:54.342 and everyone was happy except me. 0:09:54.342,0:09:57.761 And my unhappiness[br]must have shown on my face 0:09:57.761,0:10:02.395 because a very nice man[br]came up to me, and he said, 0:10:02.395,0:10:03.761 'What's the matter, Rebecca? 0:10:03.761,0:10:05.619 I mean this is a wonderful exhibition. 0:10:05.619,0:10:07.268 You should be so happy.' 0:10:07.268,0:10:09.784 And I explained to him what I had done. 0:10:09.784,0:10:12.865 And he then understood. 0:10:13.045,0:10:16.989 The next morning, I was just about to go[br]and wake up Clifford. 0:10:16.989,0:10:22.032 I had not had much sleep,[br]and I felt so sad about what I had done. 0:10:22.222,0:10:25.327 And just before I did so, the phone rang: 0:10:25.327,0:10:26.852 ‘Good morning, Rebecca.' 0:10:26.852,0:10:29.542 It was the nice man[br]from the evening before. 0:10:29.542,0:10:31.083 ‘It's George Harwood here, 0:10:31.083,0:10:33.225 and I've spoken to my cousin the Queen, 0:10:33.225,0:10:34.965 and she would be delighted 0:10:34.965,0:10:35.972 (Laughter) 0:10:35.972,0:10:40.361 to see you and Clifford at the palace[br]at two o'clock this afternoon.' 0:10:40.361,0:10:42.159 The paintings - 0:10:42.159,0:10:45.093 in order for you to understand[br]the aboriginal paintings, 0:10:45.093,0:10:46.469 it's important to know 0:10:46.469,0:10:51.075 that although they seem abstract to us 0:10:51.075,0:10:52.088 they're not. 0:10:52.088,0:10:56.761 They are paradoxically rich[br]in significant meaning. 0:10:56.761,0:11:03.052 And so, a lot of these images are created[br]as though from an aerial perspective - 0:11:03.052,0:11:07.403 as though you were a bird[br]flying over the land, looking down. 0:11:07.403,0:11:09.467 And so, if we were going to have, 0:11:09.467,0:11:12.731 or if we were having this talk[br]in the desert in Australia - 0:11:12.731,0:11:14.341 which would be really fun - 0:11:14.341,0:11:17.457 you would all be sitting[br]cross-legged in the sand, 0:11:17.457,0:11:22.538 and the imprint of your buttocks[br]would make a U-shape as seen from above. 0:11:22.538,0:11:25.010 So whenever you see[br]that shape in a painting, 0:11:25.010,0:11:27.827 it represents a human presence. 0:11:27.827,0:11:30.582 So these paintings, also, 0:11:30.582,0:11:33.938 are not just maps[br]of where to find food and water, 0:11:33.938,0:11:37.666 which is incredibly important[br]for a nomadic people, 0:11:37.666,0:11:43.699 but also they are tales[br]of the creation of the land 0:11:43.699,0:11:44.853 and how to live in it. 0:11:44.853,0:11:49.672 And that was the subject matter[br]of the exhibition of Clifford's work. 0:11:51.620,0:11:53.496 Now I… 0:11:55.576,0:11:58.131 Because of what was[br]happening in Australia, 0:11:58.521,0:12:01.169 it was being observed 0:12:01.169,0:12:04.617 that Aboriginal people[br]were getting a new voice, 0:12:04.617,0:12:10.297 a new pride in their work[br]and in themselves. 0:12:10.297,0:12:12.814 And this was not unacknowledged 0:12:12.814,0:12:17.351 by other indigenous countries[br]across the world. 0:12:17.771,0:12:24.165 And I was in a very privileged position[br]to witness this at firsthand. 0:12:24.429,0:12:29.492 Because I had worked[br]an exhibited Aboriginal art, 0:12:29.492,0:12:33.960 I started getting requests[br]from all over the world 0:12:33.960,0:12:36.356 to show indigenous groups. 0:12:36.309,0:12:41.690 And in the early 90s,[br]it was a group of Kalahari Bushmen, 0:12:41.980,0:12:45.293 from the San people, from Botswana. 0:12:45.293,0:12:50.526 They, like the Aboriginals, had started[br]transferring their ancient designs 0:12:50.526,0:12:55.348 into a permanent and portable manner. 0:12:55.348,0:12:57.729 So no longer painting on rocks or caves, 0:12:57.729,0:13:01.210 but they were painting[br]on canvas and prints. 0:13:01.210,0:13:04.373 And their exhibition in London[br]was really wonderful. 0:13:04.373,0:13:07.586 They had this extraordinary[br]vision of negative space. 0:13:07.586,0:13:11.200 So, often you thought you were looking[br]at a particular creature, 0:13:11.200,0:13:15.861 but it was the space in the background[br]that really was the important thing. 0:13:15.861,0:13:17.047 Now, 0:13:18.467,0:13:23.787 in Western art -[br]art in our Western culture - 0:13:23.837,0:13:26.272 art has a special status, 0:13:26.272,0:13:29.400 and, indeed, it has a special place. 0:13:29.400,0:13:33.879 But it can sometimes seem[br]like an aesthetic add-on - 0:13:36.064,0:13:40.613 something that's not really as important[br]as the business of living. 0:13:41.163,0:13:44.086 But in tribal indigenous cultures, 0:13:44.086,0:13:47.387 art is absolutely at the heart of things. 0:13:48.686,0:13:49.999 It is central 0:13:49.999,0:13:56.801 to the political, the personal,[br]the social and the sacred. 0:13:56.801,0:13:59.000 It is indivisible from society. 0:13:59.790,0:14:02.421 This is the painting I wanted to show you. 0:14:03.304,0:14:05.677 In indigenous society, 0:14:06.096,0:14:09.132 art is indivisible from life. 0:14:09.372,0:14:13.635 And some of these paintings now 0:14:13.635,0:14:16.476 are not just beautiful,[br]extraordinary objects; 0:14:16.476,0:14:20.371 they are also legal documents. 0:14:20.611,0:14:22.299 And on this painting, 0:14:22.299,0:14:25.328 you see the artists from Fitzroy Crossing. 0:14:26.198,0:14:28.311 When they came to visit me, 0:14:28.311,0:14:30.169 I said, 'What would you like to do?' 0:14:30.169,0:14:31.170 And they said, 0:14:31.170,0:14:34.227 'We would like to go and see[br]where the trouble started.' 0:14:34.227,0:14:36.731 I said, 'What do you mean[br]where the trouble started?' 0:14:36.731,0:14:37.730 And they said, 0:14:37.730,0:14:40.610 'We would like to go and see[br]where Captain Cook came from.' 0:14:40.610,0:14:44.884 And so we went to Whitby on the train,[br]and it was an extraordinary journey. 0:14:44.884,0:14:48.522 And when they saw Captain Cook's[br]simple, little wooden chair 0:14:48.522,0:14:50.024 and his little, simple house, 0:14:50.024,0:14:53.694 they went, 'Okay, now we understand. 0:14:53.694,0:14:55.314 He was just like us.' 0:14:55.364,0:14:57.357 And it was an amazing visit. 0:14:57.357,0:14:59.026 But here they are, 0:14:59.026,0:15:03.558 sitting on a vast painting in the sand. 0:15:03.558,0:15:06.348 And I used to be a lawyer, 0:15:06.348,0:15:09.111 and many of the people[br]that went through law school with me 0:15:09.111,0:15:10.994 are now judges and barristers. 0:15:10.994,0:15:13.265 And they sometimes go out to the desert, 0:15:13.265,0:15:17.586 and they sit in their wigs and gowns[br]around the peripheries of vast paintings 0:15:17.586,0:15:18.795 like this. 0:15:18.795,0:15:20.716 And one by one, 0:15:20.716,0:15:24.917 the artists will stand up[br]on their bit of the painting, 0:15:25.177,0:15:26.783 and they will say, 0:15:26.783,0:15:29.650 'I know this is my land. 0:15:29.650,0:15:32.941 I can prove it was my land[br]because it was my grandmother's land, 0:15:32.941,0:15:34.574 my great-great grandmother's land, 0:15:34.584,0:15:36.487 my great-great-great grandmother's land. 0:15:36.487,0:15:39.332 And I know where the water holes are.' 0:15:39.332,0:15:43.407 And you can see that there are[br]many, many circles in this painting, 0:15:43.407,0:15:45.562 which represent the water holes. 0:15:45.562,0:15:47.135 Now, you'll recall 0:15:47.135,0:15:50.938 the Western cartographers’ view[br]of the Great Sandy Desert, 0:15:50.938,0:15:53.857 where the Walmajarri people live. 0:15:53.857,0:15:54.959 And there was nothing. 0:15:54.959,0:15:56.462 There were no water holes. 0:15:56.462,0:15:58.530 But they know how to find them. 0:15:58.530,0:16:00.159 Having lived there for millennia, 0:16:00.159,0:16:02.907 they know how to find them[br]and how to look after them. 0:16:02.907,0:16:07.342 And, indeed, when the British Parliament[br]declared Australia 'terra nullius', 0:16:07.342,0:16:08.957 uninhabited land, 0:16:08.957,0:16:11.257 one of the tenets by which they did so 0:16:11.257,0:16:15.550 was the fact that the indigenous people[br]had no system of land management 0:16:15.550,0:16:17.212 or agriculture, 0:16:17.212,0:16:19.664 whereas, of course, we know now 0:16:19.664,0:16:23.821 that they had a really sophisticated[br]and extraordinary way of living 0:16:23.821,0:16:27.305 in the remarkable and rare[br]continent that is Australia. 0:16:27.771,0:16:30.580 And I think that there's such a - 0:16:30.580,0:16:33.405 I love this painting,[br]and I love the people sitting on it 0:16:33.405,0:16:37.735 because you just see their generosity[br]and their desire to share - 0:16:37.735,0:16:40.435 despite the vicissitudes[br]that we have visited upon them - 0:16:40.435,0:16:42.634 their extraordinary culture. 0:16:42.634,0:16:45.950 And I do think that through art, 0:16:46.500,0:16:51.508 knowledge and power[br]of indigenous people can be unbound. 0:16:52.052,0:16:53.722 But I also think 0:16:53.722,0:16:57.577 that as a means of communication, 0:16:57.577,0:17:00.553 of sharing knowledge and understanding, 0:17:00.918,0:17:04.802 it also can serve to bind us together. 0:17:04.802,0:17:06.107 Thank you. 0:17:06.107,0:17:07.962 (Applause)