My country, I still call Australia home: Contemporary art from Black Australia

Can you explain a little about the concept and context behind Sorry and the way it is installed? From its conception it was always intended to be installed in various formations. Sorry was originally commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery in 2008 for the exhibition 'Contemporary Australia: Optimism'; given that it coincided with the Australian Government's Apology to the Stolen Generations, Sorry was intended to make a positive statement. Five years on, I have seen very little improvement for Aboriginal people in this country. Sorry is just a word which means nothing if it is not backed up by real outcomes. By turning the work on its head I'm asking the viewer to consider the very real situation that Aboriginal people still find themselves in today. Why do you often use kitsch representations of Aboriginal people in your works? I started collecting Aboriginalia as a child. My family spent much time at second-hand opportunity shops, which my sister and I thought were treasure chests. They were always such an adventure to visit, and in those days you could fill a bag for two dollars. We would feel like celebrities, walking out with our bags of newly acquired clothes, books and bric-a-brac. My sister and I were the only Aboriginal kids at our school. In mainstream media, we rarely saw images of Aboriginal people, so I was always interested in the objects that had Aboriginal images on them. It was so exciting to see Aboriginal motifs and people on plates, cups, playing cards, ash trays, paintings, matchboxes, gift-wrapping paper — there was such an abundance and they were so readily available. Around 2002 my collection grew so large that I needed to start bringing objects into the studio where they made a natural progression into my work. At the time I was already questioning the established definitions and stereotypes of Aboriginal life and culture. In the studio, the Aboriginalia took on a new significance. It was not very long ago that these objects were displayed proudly and unquestioned in people’s living rooms. I remember seeing them in the homes of my childhood friends. Now, they may be largely discarded to second-hand shops and eBay. You can also still go to any dollar shop and buy brand-new stickers with images of Aboriginal people unapologetically depicted alongside native flora and fauna. There remain many instances where Aboriginal people are supposed to be seen and not heard. I want to change this scenario and . . . give voices back to the men, women and children who have been dispossessed and disadvantaged. Interviewed by Bruce McLean, Curator, Indigenous Australian Art, March 2013 Tony Albert Girramay People an interview Tony Albert Girramay people QLD Sorry (detail) 2008 The James C Sourris, AM , Collection Purchased 2008 with funds from James C Sourris through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 143