What My Artwork Represents - Michelle 'Wilura' Kickett

I would like to write a blog dedicated to what my artwork represents. I have had people approach me in the Aboriginal Art Gallery - Kings Park, where I am currently the 'Artist in Residence', and question the meaning behind my artwork. The two main questions that I am commonly asked are:

 

"Does your artwork have cultural significance to where you are from?"

"What does the symbolism you are using represent? 

 

Firstly, I believe that most Aboriginal art has some type of cultural significance because this type of art is a spiritual and physical extension of Aboriginal people and their beliefs and experiences which, is shaped by identity, cultural knowledge and personal influences. Therefore allowing Aboriginal artists to depict their culture through art based on their personal understanding and experiences relating to it i.e Aboriginal culture. It also serves as a bridge between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal worlds.

 

My artwork is a combination of all of the above-mentioned factors. I identify as a 'Ballardong Yorga' (woman) due to my father's family originating from what is now known as the 'Township of York' - Western Australia which is located in the 'Ballardong' tribal area. It is from here (York) that I draw my spiritual beliefs and cultural knowledge from, as does my father Dennis 'Noongali' Kickett a notable Noongar artist. York is a culturally rich and significant area which my family can trace our ancestral ties historically back to the 1800's and beyond.  My father was born in York and grew up on the local 'Aboriginal Reserve' which was an area situated on the outskirt of York where my family and other local Aboriginal families were forced to dwell after European settlement. 

 

It was from this grass-root level that my father learned many cultural customs and beliefs that were not always practised due to the impacts of colonisation, but were still passed on down as oral knowledge from his elders. It is some of these teachings that my father has taught me and which I portray in my artwork and hope to share with non-Aboriginal people to enable awareness and provide education about my ancestral lands and culture.

 

When I think about what my personal influences are I would have to say my father is my foremost artistic influence along with my Uncle Philip Narkle, another recognised Noongar artist who has been painting for over 40 years. My Dad and Uncle Phil both incorporate dots due to their 'Wongi' heritage on my Grandmothers side but I believe what they both have in common is that they paint from the 'grass-root' level which reflects both traditional Noongar/Wongi art, teachings and culture. 

 

In relation to the symbolism I incorporate in my artwork it is a representation of the fact that Noongar people (from the South-west of Australia)  did once use symbolism in their traditional forms of art on rock, sand and body surfaces. These traditional forms of art included the use of ochre, stone-tools and hands/fingers. My artwork is a birds-eye view of a particular theme which often relate to everyday aspects of my traditional culture and is mostly influenced by the sand-art Noongar people used to tell dreaming stories, depict places and show maps etc. which involved the use of symbolism drawn in the sand by way of hands and fingers.

 

I hope this gives answers to the questions that I have come across and welcome anyone who wishes to view and discuss my artwork further to come and see me at the Aboriginal Art Gallery - Kings Park, Western Australia.