Reclaiming Aboriginal Identity: Tony Albert

Tony Albert of the Kuku Yalanji people is one of the most lauded and prolific Australian artists you’ve probably never heard of. His work has attracted enormous attention and a slew of major art prizes for his extensive body of work centred on ‘Aboriginalia’; his self-coined descriptor for kitsch, divisive representations of Indigenous culture and characters popular in the 50s and 60s. Tony charges these naive objects and their implied stereotypes with highly political sentiments exploring representations of race and difference. We explore Tony’s lived experience as a young gay man, ambitious and educated, confronted with decades of endemic stereotyping and discrimination. And how it is that despite all the reasons for anarchy, Tony’s art is steeped in themes of unity and forgiveness.
CREDITS
Guest: Tony Albert @tonyalbert
Host: Madeleine West @madmadeswest
Executive Producer and Editor: Elise Cooper @elisejcooper
Additional Audio Production Support: North Coast Events https://www.northcoastevents.com.au/
LINKS:
- Duty Of Care, Glassworks https://bit.ly/3kaBtGK
- You Wreck Me https://bit.ly/youwreckme
- Hyde Park War Memorial https://bit.ly/hydepark-tonyalbert
- We Can Be Heroes https://bit.ly/tonyalbert-heroes
- Projecting Our Future – Art Gallery of NSW https://bit.ly/projectingourfuture
- Catalogue of previous exhibitions and work available online at https://tonyalbert.com.au/#Exhibitions  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.