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With Hetti Perkins as your guide, journey through Australia and its rich variety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the upcoming ABC series art+soul. The series screens on ABC1 beginning Tuesday, 8 July.
With the National Gallery of Australia’s Indigenous collection as the springboard, the documentary travels the distances from Tasmania to Arnhem Land, from the desert of WA to coastal Far North Queensland, accessing some of the most remote and artistically rich places of indigenous Australian culture.
The viewer is invited into intimate dialogues with the artists, as they discuss their practice, influences and cultural identity that define their art. Based around three thematical frameworks– Pride and Prejudice, Beauty and Cruelty, Love and Longing – the second series of art+soul celebrates the innovation and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Hetti Perkins says: ‘Art for me is a way for our people to share stories and allow the wider community to understand our history, and us as a people. Through the imagination of our artists, a better future can be imagined for the whole country.’
Meeting with some of Australia’s critical contemporary artists including Daniel Boyd, Julie Gough, Lola Greeno, Wanyubi Marika, Vernon Ah Kee, Christian Thompson, Brian Robinson, Jonathan Jones and Warwick Thornton, Perkins explores the astonishing diversity of work.
The series explores the tension between traditional Indigenous culture and modern Australia and how artists navigate the relationship between the maintenance of tradition and innovation. Art is both political and a source of healing.
The united passion and drive behind this project is clear as Director Steven McGregor states: ‘For me art + soul 2 is an invitation to explore works by leading Indigenous artists as they share their personal stories through their work, and providing an insight into what lies at the very heart of their artistic practice and their community.’
The intricate designs of Aboriginal art are discussed and analysed, explaining the connections of family and land that define it.
art + soul 2 premieres on the ABC on Tuesday July 8, 8.30pm, as part of NAIDOC week. Subsequent episodes screen Tuesday 15 July and Tuesday 22 July.
art+soul
ABC
Image: Hetti Perkins courtesy the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
