Memories of oblivion 5 – The Heart will live on 2000 – present Accession Number: AWM2021.412.5

Description

Please be aware that this material relates to Frontier Wars and may cause distress in some circumstances. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples please be aware this description may include the name/s and/or descriptions of deceased peoples.

Paul Bong (b. 1963 Yidinji) is a printmaker whose works often focus on reclaiming cultural treasures and histories that have been disrupted and dislocated through colonial processes. Bong uses etching and vinyl print techniques to recreate the forms of cultural material including rainforest shields, king plates, weaponry and dilly bags. His prints represent a way to reclaim cultural treasures that have been removed from their communities and now reside largely in museums.

Bong’s 2016 work, Memories of Oblivion is a suite of five prints that together span a narrative of more than 50,000 years, from the earliest records of settlement in the Cairns region to the present day. The creeping influence of the Union Jack on the form of a North Queensland rainforest shield speaks to the loss of culture and violent persecution of Aboriginal people that occurred on the colonial frontier. Together, the prints in the series also serve as a memorial to those who died defending Country during the conflicts. The final work in the series, ‘The Heart Will Live on 2000/present’, shows that despite frontier wars and colonisation, Aboriginal people and their cultures are still very much alive. In a statement about the work the artist writes:
'The flag of the Union Jack is now as part the other fragments in this shield. The middle fragment represents the "Heart”, The Heart of the Dreamtime, The Heart of the song lines and the heart of my story. The shield is the “Heart" of the rainforest people but our fragmented lives are still very much alive. We are still hanging on to what is left. To Our Fallen, Men Women and Our Children. Lest We Forget.'