[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.12,0:00:06.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over 30 years ago, in 1987,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.05,0:00:09.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I set up a small art gallery in London.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.07,0:00:14.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a modest affair\Nin a little shop space in Fitzrovia -
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.58,0:00:19.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at then, at that time, a bohemian\Nand rather rundown quarter of London.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.56,0:00:22.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The inspiration and impetus\Nbehind this venture
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.88,0:00:26.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was my desire to show\NAboriginal art in London.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.30,0:00:30.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was at the time relatively unknown.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.50,0:00:33.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Astonishingly to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.30,0:00:34.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and shockingly to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.64,0:00:38.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I was born in Melbourne in 1955,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.66,0:00:43.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aboriginal people were not full citizens\Nof their own country.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.43,0:00:45.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were wards of the state,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.87,0:00:47.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as wards of the state,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.55,0:00:51.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they were not able to marry\Nor to travel without permission.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.68,0:00:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were not allowed to own property,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.80,0:00:58.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they were not even legally responsible\Nfor their own children.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.90,0:01:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was not until I was 12
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.05,0:01:04.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that in 1967, a referendum was held,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.63,0:01:06.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Australian people voted
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.74,0:01:10.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that aboriginals could be counted\Namongst its citizens.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.20,0:01:13.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet despite this,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.22,0:01:15.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people living in the white -
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.23,0:01:18.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the white Europeans\Nliving in these coastal cities
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.55,0:01:21.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were still not interested\Nin Aboriginal people.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.74,0:01:22.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to them,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.74,0:01:24.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they remained largely invisible.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.87,0:01:26.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had no voice,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.54,0:01:29.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they had no one willing to listen.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.98,0:01:33.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, standing in front\Nof these paintings in Alice Springs,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.44,0:01:36.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was full of a sense of wonder:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.11,0:01:37.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How had this happened?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.77,0:01:40.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were postcards from another world.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.50,0:01:45.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And although Aboriginal art\Nwas certainly new at that time to me -
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.70,0:01:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and new to many Australians -
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.80,0:01:49.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was also old.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.17,0:01:51.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Very old.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.50,0:01:56.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it's the oldest continuous\Nartistic tradition in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.71,0:02:01.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stretching back in an unbroken line\Nsome 50,000 years -
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.100,0:02:04.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,far longer than Stonehenge,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.26,0:02:06.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the pyramids of ancient Egypt
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.02,0:02:09.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or of the caves of Lascaux -
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.22,0:02:12.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also, at the same time,\Nit was very new.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.94,0:02:17.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These paintings, the traditional designs,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.40,0:02:20.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had been painted on bodies in ceremonies,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.37,0:02:23.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,using natural ochre.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.09,0:02:28.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had been made\Nas huge, grand mosaics in the sand
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.06,0:02:32.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and carved into trees\Nand painted on rocks.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.45,0:02:35.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they were ephemeral and fugitive.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.98,0:02:42.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, as I realized in Alice Springs,\Na huge change had taken place.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.48,0:02:45.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a great act of generosity,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.04,0:02:51.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aboriginal people had set down their art\Nin a permanent and portable form -
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.52,0:02:53.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on paper, on canvas.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.50,0:02:55.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what's more,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.16,0:02:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they had allowed us, uninitiated people,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.98,0:03:00.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.60,0:03:03.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this was a great\Nand extraordinary development
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.88,0:03:06.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that had happened\Nsince I had left the country.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.86,0:03:12.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it had begun in a little place\Ncalled Papunya in 1971.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.01,0:03:15.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the '60s, the Australian government,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.22,0:03:17.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an effort to assimilate\Nthe Aboriginals,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.83,0:03:19.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had built settlements in the desert,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.98,0:03:22.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they had rounded\Nup the Aboriginal people
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.46,0:03:26.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and forced them into\Nthese barbed wire encampments.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.02,0:03:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Papunya was built for 500 people,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.07,0:03:31.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but a thousand Aboriginals\Nwere put in there,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.76,0:03:34.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often people from different\Nlanguage groups
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.31,0:03:37.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who for millennia had perhaps been at war
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.34,0:03:39.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and didn't want to live\Nin close proximity.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.57,0:03:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People deprived of their right\Nto roam across the land
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.38,0:03:45.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and follow their songlines
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.94,0:03:48.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sat in despair in the sand.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.94,0:03:52.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Into this depressing scene of despair,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.28,0:03:53.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 1971,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.60,0:03:56.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a young schoolteacher\Nfrom New South Wales,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.92,0:03:58.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Geoffrey Bardon,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.23,0:04:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came to take up a post\Nat the Papunya school.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.22,0:04:06.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Geoffrey was entranced by the countryside\Nthat he saw around Papunya
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.85,0:04:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the beautiful rock formations.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.94,0:04:10.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he was also intrigued
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.48,0:04:14.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as he watched the schoolchildren\Ndrawing in the sand in their break
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.84,0:04:18.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and telling stories to one another\Nusing their fingers.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.07,0:04:23.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The old men watched his interest,\Nand they were delighted.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.69,0:04:24.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has to be said
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.98,0:04:29.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that at that time in Australia\Nit was almost apartheid.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.30,0:04:31.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The European people\Nworking at the settlements -
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.84,0:04:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the health workers, the garage mechanics\Nand the shopkeepers -
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.70,0:04:37.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had no truck with the Aboriginals
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.69,0:04:40.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and no interest\Nin engaging with them at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.62,0:04:45.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Geoffrey's interest was something\Nreally special to the old men.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.47,0:04:48.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And encouraged by it, \Nthey started talking to him.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.58,0:04:50.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you see them -
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.78,0:04:55.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you will see him sitting here\Nwith old Long Tom Onion.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.04,0:04:57.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the men explained to him
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.41,0:05:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how the land had been created\Nby ancestors in the past.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.10,0:05:04.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Geoffrey suddenly thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.65,0:05:06.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'This is astonishing.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.30,0:05:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is it that I am teaching\Nthe children Western things
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.60,0:05:15.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we're not even acknowledging\Nthis extraordinary culture
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.46,0:05:17.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of which they are a part?'
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.94,0:05:21.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, in consultation with the old men,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.02,0:05:25.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was decided to paint a mural\Non the school wall at Papunya.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.40,0:05:29.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The minute the idea\Nof painting the mural was mooted,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.30,0:05:32.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the whole mood of the community changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.16,0:05:34.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No longer did people sit in despair.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.95,0:05:39.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They started excitedly talking\Nabout what would be an appropriate story
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.14,0:05:40.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to paint on the wall.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.38,0:05:42.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Something that could be seen by everybody,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.82,0:05:45.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not just the initiated.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.17,0:05:48.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And eventually, it was decided\Nto paint the Honey Ant Mural.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.92,0:05:54.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you see it here, painted in 1971,\Non the school wall at Papunya.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.96,0:05:58.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Geoffrey had unleashed this torrent.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.19,0:06:02.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And all across the desert,\Nnews of it spread like wildfire.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.03,0:06:05.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next community\Nto take up the paintbrushes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.87,0:06:07.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was Yuendumu.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.51,0:06:09.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Warlpiri people there
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.41,0:06:13.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had been forced to live\Nin little, hot, tin Porsche cabins
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.60,0:06:16.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sent up by the government\Nin an effort to civilize them.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.41,0:06:19.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so their first act\Nof cultural resurgence
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.33,0:06:22.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was to paint the doors\Nof these little hot tin cabins,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.76,0:06:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although why it was deemed\Na civilizing influence
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.96,0:06:28.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to live in a hot tin box\Nwhen it's regularly 40 degrees
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.97,0:06:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.58,0:06:34.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But one thing united\Nthese disparate artists,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.98,0:06:40.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that was that the genesis\Nof all their painting came from the land.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.08,0:06:44.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was something very different\Nfor the white settlers.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.22,0:06:48.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The interior of Australia\Nwas regarded as something hostile
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.38,0:06:50.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and something very, very frightening.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.57,0:06:53.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you can see here
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.11,0:06:56.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Western cartographer's view\Nof the Great Sandy Desert,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.79,0:06:59.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a vast, featureless plain:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.16,0:07:00.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no distinguishing features,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.92,0:07:05.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no mountains, no rocks, no rivers,\Nno streams and no lakes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.82,0:07:13.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is an Aboriginal vision\Nof exactly the same piece of country.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.06,0:07:17.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it is important also to realise
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.90,0:07:22.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Aboriginal culture\Nis not a single, homogeneous entity.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.33,0:07:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Australia as it was\Nwhen first encountered by the European.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.08,0:07:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And all these different colours\Nrepresent different language groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.67,0:07:34.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, some of them have gone,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.97,0:07:36.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but many have remained.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.92,0:07:39.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the art from these different places
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.64,0:07:41.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is quite as distinctive
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.27,0:07:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the different languages\Nand different physical appearances
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.50,0:07:46.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the people that live in them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.14,0:07:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the first exhibitions\NI did in my little gallery in Fitzrovia
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.07,0:07:56.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was by the great Anmatyerre artist\Nfrom Papunya, Clifford Possum.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.20,0:08:01.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had met Clifford in a creek bed\Non my visit to Alice Springs.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.58,0:08:04.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he was sitting under a tree,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.80,0:08:05.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I said to him,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.97,0:08:09.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'Clifford, would you like to have\Nan exhibition in London?'
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.50,0:08:11.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He looked at me for a long time,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.39,0:08:15.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then he went, 'Queen'.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.26,0:08:16.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I went, 'Yes, of course.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.95,0:08:19.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, you can meet the Queen\Nif you come to London'.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.93,0:08:21.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he looked at me for a long time,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.86,0:08:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then he went, 'Okay'.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.56,0:08:26.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I sent him the money for an airfare,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.34,0:08:27.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a year later,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.37,0:08:29.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went to pick him up at Heathrow.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.53,0:08:32.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he arrived in his cowboy hat\Nand cowboy shirt.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.93,0:08:36.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When no sooner had we got in the car\Nto go back to the gallery,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.56,0:08:38.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then he said, 'Queen'.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.62,0:08:42.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, I had forgotten my promise\Nthat he could meet the Queen.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.12,0:08:46.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But thinking that it would be so exciting\Nfor him to be in London
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.10,0:08:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if we drove past Buckingham Palace\Nthat would be enough,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.39,0:08:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we did.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.40,0:08:51.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as we drove past,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.97,0:08:54.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I said, ‘Clifford,\Nthat is where the Queen lives’,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.54,0:08:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he went, 'In. In'.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.92,0:09:00.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.07,0:09:02.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then the penny dropped
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.08,0:09:06.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I, like generations\Nof Europeans before me,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.44,0:09:09.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had promised something
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.64,0:09:15.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I had no intention and no ability\Nto deliver to an Aboriginal person,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.30,0:09:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that he, on the strength\Nof my promise, had trusted me.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.26,0:09:22.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as an elder of the Anmatyerre people,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.45,0:09:26.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was going to come to Britain\Nto meet the leader of the British people.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.70,0:09:27.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I realised
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.70,0:09:31.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he would lose tremendous face\Nif that was not the case.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.33,0:09:35.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That night was the opening\Nof his exhibition.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.41,0:09:37.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was an astonishing affair.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.94,0:09:42.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These extraordinary, beautiful,\Nmythopoetic canvases
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.67,0:09:46.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with strange, seemingly abstract designs
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.23,0:09:48.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,coming from the middle of the desert.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.98,0:09:51.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People were entranced and intrigued,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.44,0:09:54.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and everyone was happy except me.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.34,0:09:57.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my unhappiness\Nmust have shown on my face
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.76,0:10:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because a very nice man\Ncame up to me, and he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.40,0:10:03.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'What's the matter, Rebecca?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.76,0:10:05.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean this is a wonderful exhibition.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.62,0:10:07.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You should be so happy.'
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.27,0:10:09.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I explained to him what I had done.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.78,0:10:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he then understood.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.04,0:10:16.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next morning, I was just about to go\Nand wake up Clifford.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.99,0:10:22.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had not had much sleep,\Nand I felt so sad about what I had done.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.22,0:10:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And just before I did so, the phone rang:
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.33,0:10:26.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,‘Good morning, Rebecca.'
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.85,0:10:29.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the nice man\Nfrom the evening before.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.54,0:10:31.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,‘It's George Harwood here,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.08,0:10:33.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I've spoken to my cousin the Queen,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.22,0:10:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she would be delighted
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.96,0:10:35.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.97,0:10:40.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see you and Clifford at the palace\Nat two o'clock this afternoon.'
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.36,0:10:42.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The paintings -
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.16,0:10:45.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order for you to understand\Nthe aboriginal paintings,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.09,0:10:46.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's important to know
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.47,0:10:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that although they seem abstract to us
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.08,0:10:52.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're not.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.09,0:10:56.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are paradoxically rich\Nin significant meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.76,0:11:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, a lot of these images are created\Nas though from an aerial perspective -
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.05,0:11:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as though you were a bird\Nflying over the land, looking down.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.40,0:11:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, if we were going to have,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.47,0:11:12.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or if we were having this talk\Nin the desert in Australia -
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.73,0:11:14.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which would be really fun -
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.34,0:11:17.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you would all be sitting\Ncross-legged in the sand,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.46,0:11:22.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the imprint of your buttocks\Nwould make a U-shape as seen from above.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.54,0:11:25.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So whenever you see\Nthat shape in a painting,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.01,0:11:27.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it represents a human presence.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.83,0:11:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So these paintings, also,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.58,0:11:33.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not just maps\Nof where to find food and water,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.94,0:11:37.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is incredibly important\Nfor a nomadic people,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.67,0:11:43.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also they are tales\Nof the creation of the land
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.70,0:11:44.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how to live in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.85,0:11:49.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that was the subject matter\Nof the exhibition of Clifford's work.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.62,0:11:53.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I…
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.58,0:11:58.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because of what was\Nhappening in Australia,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.52,0:12:01.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was being observed
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.17,0:12:04.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Aboriginal people\Nwere getting a new voice,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.62,0:12:10.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a new pride in their work\Nand in themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.30,0:12:12.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this was not unacknowledged
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.81,0:12:17.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by other indigenous countries\Nacross the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.77,0:12:24.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was in a very privileged position\Nto witness this at firsthand.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.43,0:12:29.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because I had worked\Nan exhibited Aboriginal art,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.49,0:12:33.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started getting requests\Nfrom all over the world
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.96,0:12:36.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to show indigenous groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.31,0:12:41.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the early 90s,\Nit was a group of Kalahari Bushmen,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.98,0:12:45.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the San people, from Botswana.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.29,0:12:50.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They, like the Aboriginals, had started\Ntransferring their ancient designs
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.53,0:12:55.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a permanent and portable manner.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.35,0:12:57.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So no longer painting on rocks or caves,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:57.73,0:13:01.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they were painting\Non canvas and prints.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.21,0:13:04.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And their exhibition in London\Nwas really wonderful.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.37,0:13:07.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had this extraordinary\Nvision of negative space.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.59,0:13:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, often you thought you were looking\Nat a particular creature,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.20,0:13:15.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it was the space in the background\Nthat really was the important thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.86,0:13:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.47,0:13:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Western art -\Nart in our Western culture -
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.84,0:13:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,art has a special status,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.27,0:13:29.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, indeed, it has a special place.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.40,0:13:33.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it can sometimes seem\Nlike an aesthetic add-on -
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.06,0:13:40.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something that's not really as important\Nas the business of living.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.16,0:13:44.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in tribal indigenous cultures,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.09,0:13:47.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,art is absolutely at the heart of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.69,0:13:49.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is central
Dialogue: 0,0:13:49.100,0:13:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the political, the personal,\Nthe social and the sacred.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.80,0:13:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is indivisible from society.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.79,0:14:02.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the painting I wanted to show you.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.30,0:14:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In indigenous society,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.10,0:14:09.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,art is indivisible from life.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.37,0:14:13.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some of these paintings now
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.64,0:14:16.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not just beautiful,\Nextraordinary objects;
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.48,0:14:20.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are also legal documents.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.61,0:14:22.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And on this painting,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.30,0:14:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you see the artists from Fitzroy Crossing.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.20,0:14:28.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When they came to visit me,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:28.31,0:14:30.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I said, 'What would you like to do?'
Dialogue: 0,0:14:30.17,0:14:31.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they said,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:31.17,0:14:34.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'We would like to go and see\Nwhere the trouble started.'
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.23,0:14:36.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I said, 'What do you mean\Nwhere the trouble started?'
Dialogue: 0,0:14:36.73,0:14:37.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they said,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.73,0:14:40.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'We would like to go and see\Nwhere Captain Cook came from.'
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.61,0:14:44.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so we went to Whitby on the train,\Nand it was an extraordinary journey.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.88,0:14:48.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when they saw Captain Cook's\Nsimple, little wooden chair
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.52,0:14:50.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his little, simple house,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:50.02,0:14:53.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they went, 'Okay, now we understand.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.69,0:14:55.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was just like us.'
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.36,0:14:57.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was an amazing visit.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.36,0:14:59.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But here they are,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:59.03,0:15:03.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sitting on a vast painting in the sand.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.56,0:15:06.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I used to be a lawyer,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.35,0:15:09.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and many of the people\Nthat went through law school with me
Dialogue: 0,0:15:09.11,0:15:10.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are now judges and barristers.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.99,0:15:13.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they sometimes go out to the desert,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:13.26,0:15:17.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they sit in their wigs and gowns\Naround the peripheries of vast paintings
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.59,0:15:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.80,0:15:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one by one,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.72,0:15:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the artists will stand up\Non their bit of the painting,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:25.18,0:15:26.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they will say,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.78,0:15:29.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'I know this is my land.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.65,0:15:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can prove it was my land\Nbecause it was my grandmother's land,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:32.94,0:15:34.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my great-great grandmother's land,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.58,0:15:36.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my great-great-great grandmother's land.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:36.49,0:15:39.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I know where the water holes are.'
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.33,0:15:43.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you can see that there are\Nmany, many circles in this painting,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:43.41,0:15:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which represent the water holes.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:45.56,0:15:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you'll recall
Dialogue: 0,0:15:47.14,0:15:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Western cartographers’ view\Nof the Great Sandy Desert,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.94,0:15:53.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the Walmajarri people live.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.86,0:15:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there was nothing.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.96,0:15:56.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were no water holes.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.46,0:15:58.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they know how to find them.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.53,0:16:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having lived there for millennia,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.16,0:16:02.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they know how to find them\Nand how to look after them.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:02.91,0:16:07.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, indeed, when the British Parliament\Ndeclared Australia 'terra nullius',
Dialogue: 0,0:16:07.34,0:16:08.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,uninhabited land,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:08.96,0:16:11.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the tenets by which they did so
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.26,0:16:15.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the fact that the indigenous people\Nhad no system of land management
Dialogue: 0,0:16:15.55,0:16:17.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or agriculture,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.21,0:16:19.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whereas, of course, we know now
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.66,0:16:23.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they had a really sophisticated\Nand extraordinary way of living
Dialogue: 0,0:16:23.82,0:16:27.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the remarkable and rare\Ncontinent that is Australia.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.77,0:16:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think that there's such a -
Dialogue: 0,0:16:30.58,0:16:33.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I love this painting,\Nand I love the people sitting on it
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.40,0:16:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you just see their generosity\Nand their desire to share -
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.74,0:16:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite the vicissitudes\Nthat we have visited upon them -
Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.44,0:16:42.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their extraordinary culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.63,0:16:45.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I do think that through art,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.50,0:16:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,knowledge and power\Nof indigenous people can be unbound.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:52.05,0:16:53.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I also think
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.72,0:16:57.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that as a means of communication,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:57.58,0:17:00.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of sharing knowledge and understanding,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.92,0:17:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it also can serve to bind us together.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.80,0:17:06.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.11,0:17:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)