mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri: Judy Watson

resistance pins 2018 proves that size does not equal power. These seemingly fragile and aesthetically beautiful forms are palm-sized bronze implements, based on those used by Aboriginal people. The edition of 45 comprises a set of five objects, with 35 editions cast in bronze, and 10 in unglazed porcelain. Awls (needles), artisanal tools, and nose, ear and cloak pins were originally created using shells and bone, but in Watson's work they have been recreated using bronze. As she explains: They have appeared as motifs in some of my visual artworks as drawings, paintings and prints. Their elegant, slender shapes conceal their ability to bind and sew, drill and pierce through material and the body, dig into the earth, fight, resist an attack or knock over a catch of fresh food. The inspiration for this body of work extends to an iconic figure in early 1900s Brisbane: I was inspired by the story of Emma Miller, an early campaigner for equal opportunity for women in the workplace. On Black Friday's general strike in 1912, Emma Miller and her colleagues were at a rally in King George Square, Brisbane. The Police Commissioner [William Geoffrey] Cahill led a charge of mounted police straight toward the contingent of women. Emma, a seamstress by trade aged 73, stepped forward and used her hat pin to protect herself and the other women, piercing the horse and unseating the Police Commissioner. The charge was abandoned and Emma's courage and conviction are remembered in the hearts and minds of the community. 16 In an act of 'putting her money where her mouth is', Watson donated part of the proceeds gained in the sale of the editions of resistance pins to organisations promoting and supporting women in Australia. environmentalism | water as a weapon In preparing for this exhibition, a 'back to Country' trip was planned with Watson and her family to visit Boodjamulla Lawn Hill Gorge National Park in August 2023. However, months prior a monsoon obliterated the tracks, roads and facilities in the National Park and caused destruction to neighbouring communities. Due to the severity of that weather event, at the time of writing all National Parks in the region have been, and will remain, closed until mid- 2024, or at least 18 months in total. The environmental aspects of Watson's practice cover multiple fronts. red tides 1997 and deadly bloom 1997 were shown at the 1997 Venice Biennale and are depictions of algae blooms, which starve the water of oxygen, causing detriment to ecosystems. One cause of these blooms is the agricultural fertiliser deposited in waterways as a result of stormwater run-offs. Watson's work bloom 2009 maps resistance pins (detail) 2018 Katina Davidson, Curator, Indigenous Australian Art, and Judy Watson, 5 October 2018, GOMA The pins' elegant, slender shapes conceal their ability to bind and sew, drill and pierce through material and the body, dig into the earth, fight, resist an attack or knock over a catch of fresh food. — JUDY WATSON 58 59