Memories of Oblivion 4 – cutting the feet off 1900

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 fourth print in the series, ‘Cutting the feet off, 1900’ represents all Indigenous Australians massacred on the colonial frontier. In a statement about the work the artist writes: 'The bottom of the fragment on the shield is missing, representing all indigenous Aboriginals massacred for treasons unknown, ambushed, raped, shot and burnt. As one might call it "separating the civilized from their civilization.”'