Beyond the Future: Papers from the Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

say that this painting cannot be spoken of, not because it l ies on the other side of western consciousness, but because something is lost in the very act of being spoken of. This would be that 'fold' where the work's disclosure and non-d isclosure coincide. Such a folding or faulting of secrecy in the painting allows it to behave like a m irror: it ineluctably turns upon us; by default, it appears to be only a reflection of us. And here is the real 'otherness' of post­ colonial art: it is neither etic - analogous to us - nor emic - absolutely other. It is rather what means that every attempt to speak of the other returns us to the same, that the emic is always etic. This otherness, however, is not some pre-discursive reality out there before we speak of it, but only what ensures that every attempt to speak of it fails, reveals itself as Eurocentric. From this perspective, the d iscolouration - let us call it the 'blackness' - in Kngwarreye's work appears precisely as a folding of white upon itself, presenting an inerad icable darkness between otherwise translucent layers of paint. To go back to Nowra's essay, we would say that the 'blackness' he writes of there is not merely the marker of that d ifference sought by the post-colonial critic, but also withdraws from us in advance, refuses to serve our demands. Finally, when we look at Untitled ( Alhalkere ) and other works by Kngwarreye, we are held captive not so much by a pale reflection of ourselves as by the shadows of our doubt. 1 Lou is Nowra, 'Blackness in the Art of Rover Thomas', Art and Australia, Vol . 35, No. 1 , 1 997, p. 94. 2 Norman Bryson, 'Morimura: Three Read ings', Art & Text 52 , 1 995, p. 75. 3 Ian Burn, 'The Re-Appropriation of I nfluence', in Dialogue: Writings in Art History, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney, 1 99 1 , p . 202. 4 Ian Mclean, 'Gordon Bennett's Home Decor: The Joker in the Pack', Law, Text, Culture, Vol . 4 , No. 1 , Autumn 1 998, pp. 302-3 . 5 See William Rubin, 'Primitivism' in the 20th Century: Affinity of the Tribal and Modern, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1 984, and Thomas McEvilley, 'Doctor Lawyer Indian Chief, Artforum, November 1 984. There are also two further exchanges of letters in Artforum (February and May 1 985). 6 Roger Benjamin, 'A New Modernist Hero', in Emily Kame Kngwarreye - Alhalkere: Paintings from Utopia, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1 998, p . 53. 7 On the secret in Mallarme being constituted in being broken or revealed, see Jacques Derrida, 'The Double Session', p. 259; on the 're-mark', pp. 251 -3; on the 'hollowing out' of meaning, p. 258; on a 'gestural' writing, p. 202, in Dissemination, The Athlone Press, London, 1 98 1 . 1 28