Australian indigenous art comes to Nubuke
The Nubuke Foundation, with support from the Australian High Commission in Ghana, will host an Australian indigenous art exhibition dubbed ‘Yiwarra Kuju’ from Wednesday, January 27 to Tuesday, February 16 on the foundation’s East Legon premises in Accra.
Advertisement
‘Yiwarra Kuju’ means “one road” in the Martu language and describes the Australian Canning Stock Route, a track that was developed on Aboriginal homelands as mining and pastoral industries expanded in Western Australia.
The exhibition tells the story of the route's impact, and the importance of the country around it, interpreted through Aboriginal eyes and voices.
“We’ve used ‘one road’ to bind the art, people and story of the Western Desert together. We use the Canning Stock Route as the meeting point, as the cross-cultural basis on which to develop an understanding of Aboriginal Country, and the shared history that happened within it,” stated the National Museum of Australia, curators of the exhibition.
Ghanaian visual artist Isaac Opoku will also present works inspired by ‘Yiwarra Kuju’ and a collaboration with schoolchildren of La-Bawaleshie Presbyterian Junior High School.
One of the works Opoku has created is called ‘Akwantuo,’ which translates as “The Voyage” in English. It essentially deals with man’s interaction with the natural and spiritual realms.
The piece draws on a combination of a variety of Aboriginal symbols to tell a story of man’s journey through life, death and the afterlife.
Another Opoku piece, ‘Denkyem Asa,’ which translates as ‘Crocodile’s Dance,’ talks about change and transition.
It communicates the idea that Opoku had to necessarily adapt his thinking and approach to creating art in order to fully absorb and understand the meanings and aesthetics of Australian Aboriginal art.
According to the Australian Acting High Commissioner, Tim Millikan, “visitors, regardless of their levels of understanding of Australian history, Aboriginal art or Aboriginal culture, can expect to be enchanted and learn from this exhibition.”