CITE- English born Australian colonial artist, John Glover depicts the culture and idyllic lifestyle of Aboriginals to show Australian identity through his artwork “The River Nile, Van Diemen’s Land, from Mr Glover’s Farm”. Joann Ross is an Australian contemporary artist that portrays the unsullied Aboriginal land through animation in her artwork “The Claiming of Things” to express her ideas on Australian identity.
EXAMPLE- Australian identity has been best depicted in both Glover and Ross’s work through demonstrating the deep connection between nature and Aboriginal culture. Glover has achieved this most successfully using symbolism. The dominant vegetation in this landscape painting is the sinuous eucalyptus trees, a well-known native Australian plant. The canopy of the eucalyptus is painted in mild and dry colours brushed with golden light, creating a sense of peacefulness and quietness. No other foreign plants are found which suggests that this land’s uniqueness lies in its originality and tranquillity. Ross appropriated many of Glover’s artworks including the eucalyptus trees. Like Glover, Ross emphasises the pensive peace of the Australian landscape, except she uses natural sound tracks in her animation to contrast with the buzzing of modern vehicles to show the tranquillity of nature, hence the idyll life of Aboriginals before the colonization.
EXPLAIN- Glover and Ross both portray the oblivion of Aboriginals towards the arrival of white settlers in their artworks. In Glover’s painting, the pellucid sky and bushlands are tinted with the orange and red shades of twilight. This suggests that like the setting sun, the idyll days for the Aboriginals are coming to an end, however, they are completely aware of what the next day will bring. In Ross’s animation, she depicted the Aboriginals playing in...
