Mapping Croft’s voyages and traces of Country at CMAG
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Brenda L. Croft’s current multimedia exhibition at Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG), ‘hand/made/held/ground’, traces the artist’s continuing connection to Country through an insightful exploration of her patrilineal heritage and Indigenous epistemologies.
Dispersed across the floor and the walls of the gallery are a multitude of palm-sized glass casts of kurrwa (stone axes) and jimpila (stone spearheads), customary objects originating from Gurindji Country. Reminiscent of constellations in the night sky, the translucent objects sit atop steel bases that periodically shine with coloured lights. In the dimly lit space, the captivating work is connected by wires that have been organised organically, creating interlinking paths reflecting on Croft’s personal journey as a descendant of a Stolen Generations’ member. Another form of tracing surrounds the installation with photographs of satellite images of Country. This body of work physically maps out Croft’s voyages, many of which were accompanied by family and Gurindji community members, in the style of GPS navigation routes.
Displayed in conjunction with the exhibition is Croft’s 2018 ‘Made in Australia II’ series. Drawn from the CMAG collection, the eight large-scale photographs are reproductions of Kodachrome slides taken in the 1950s and 1960s by the artist’s mother, Dorothy Jean Croft, an Anglo-Australian woman. The enlarged images reveal Dorothy’s handwritten notes alongside the ‘Made in Australia’ manufacturing imprint of each slide, a pairing evocative of the nation’s changing postwar demographic.
By re-examining material objects in diverse and engaging ways, ‘hand/made/held/ground’ presents an auto-ethnographical investigation of Croft’s relationship to both her patrilineal and matrilineal lineages, providing an artistic roadmap for the future.
Chin-Jie Melodie Liu, Canberra
‘hand/made/held/ground’ is currently on display at the Canberra Museum and Gallery until 22 January 2022.
