Still Sacred and Golden

Still Sacred and Golden  

18 June – 18 September 2022

Still Sacred and Golden is an exhibition of seventeen new paintings by proud Wadawurrung woman Dr Deanne Gilson.

An emerging Elder from Ballarat, Deanne has long held an interest the objectification of Aboriginal women by the male and female colonial gaze and how this has affected Aboriginal women.

Still Sacred and Golden is an exhibition "celebrating our plants and cultural practices through contemporary women's business, returning the colonial gaze and highlighting we are still objectified; however, I do this in a subtle way through kitsch objects of First Nations peoples that were inappropriate and quite hurtful to see," says Deanne Gilson.

"I am looking at the objects of our daily lives and as a First Nations artist responding to the objectified and yet showing us as still here, and our culture is still sacred to us. The flowers are all about honouring the beauty of Country and our women with the knowledge held in the baskets I will be painting.''

She continues, "the gold references two things for me, the gold fields in which I live and that our knowledge is golden and important and worth more than gold. My ancestors had no use of gold itself it is just a metaphor… The true gold isn't the gold from the gold fields, it's us."

Deanne spent her early years growing up in Naarm (Melbourne). At the age of seven, Deanne, her parents and three siblings relocated to her Ancestral Country which encompasses Ballarat and surrounding areas. Deanne has a deep appreciation for the bush and the Indigenous plants, trees and flowers that surrounded her as a child.

Deanne is an award-winning multi-media visual artist, with a practice spanning thirty-nine years. Deanne's mother is Aunty Marlene Gilson, a painter, with her own award-winning art practice.

Deanne recently completed her PhD at Deakin University which examined the objectification of Aboriginal women by the male and female colonial gaze and how this has affected Aboriginal women and traditional women's business. Deanne's recent artworks feature themes about colonial disruption; loss of family, culture, language and traditional women's practices; and, the continuing impact of loss on Aboriginal women today. Deanne creates contemporary art that assists in healing, disrupting and challenging the gaze through a reflective process.

Deanne's works position traditional marks alongside contemporary ones, referencing women's business and its links to ceremonial practice.

The Koorie Heritage Trust is proud to acknowledge exhibition partners Creative Victoria, City of Melbourne, Australia Council for the Arts and the Indigenous Visual Arts and Industry Support Program.

Still Sacred and Golden by Dr Deanne Gilson opens Saturday 18 June until Sunday 18 September at the Koorie Heritage Trust, Yarra Building, Fed Square.  Free entry  www.koorieheritagetrust.com.au