When I tell people that I’m Aboriginal, so many of them respond by saying, ‘But not really Aboriginal’.
What is Aboriginal? According to most white experts and the media, it’s a black person who lives in a remote community, has social issues and claims benefits that are way above what they deserve. So being Aboriginal but white, fairly socially adjusted and living in an urban area, where do I fit in?
I’ve always been told that I was Aboriginal. I never questioned it because of the colour of my skin or where I lived. My Nan, part of the Stolen Generation, was staunchly proud and strong. She made me feel the same way. My land takes in Ballarat, Geelong and Werribee and extends west past Cressy to Derrinallum. I’m from Victoria and I’ve always known this. All the descendants of traditional Victorian Aboriginal people are now of mixed heritage. I’m not black. I’m not from a remote community. Does that mean I’m not really Aboriginal?
Or do Aboriginal people come in all shapes, sizes and colours and live in all areas of Australia, remote and urban?
About the artist/s:
Bindi Cole is snap happy…
“When I was very little, I lived in a small flat in Eildon Court, St Kilda with my mum, a single parent. This was back when a single parent could afford to live in St Kilda, along with artists, addicts, pensioners, prostitutes and the like. These were the people that I knew. It was a colourful area. Mary lived upstairs from us with her daughter Jade, who was my age. Mary was a photographer and had converted a small shed out the back of the flats into a darkroom. She often took photos of my Mother, who was a dancer, and printed them in this darkroom. I was fascinated by it.
“For a while, I wasn’t able to live with my mum, so I lived with my nan. I learnt that I was Aboriginal. That my nan had been part of the Stolen Generation and that we belonged to a mob called Wathaurung.
“When I was a teenager and old enough to own my own camera, my mum bought me one. As well as developing tanks, chemicals, a black out bag and the other items required for me to develop films at home. I took photographs of my friends and my environment, then sat in my bedroom and processed my first rolls of black and white film.
“Both my mum and my nan died when I was 16. This sent me on a journey of self-discovery that I did not return from until I was 26. I only have a few photos from my childhood. It’s strange.
“Ponch Hawkes gave me my first lessons in darkroom printing. By developing a folio of images with her help, I applied for and was accepted into North Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT). I graduated from NMIT with a runner up category placement in the National Student Photographer of the Year Awards.
“Immediately after graduating, I collaborated with two fellow schoolmates to put on an exhibition entitled Same Place, Different Face. This was a collection of images that captured the changing cultural face of St Kilda. These images were also used in a short film of the same name. The exhibition was a highlight of the 2005 St Kilda Festival and the short film selected for screening at the St Kilda Film Festival. This project was entirely funded by the City of Port Phillip and all images now form a part of their historic collection.
“Heart Strong was my first solo show. The concept came to me at a time when the Indigenous population of Australia was being portrayed through the media in a highly negative way. I got to thinking that maybe this was all people knew of Aborigines. I certainly did not relate to what I was seeing in the media and I knew that for every Indigenous person out there who was suffering from social issues there was an equal who was striving and successful and strong. I decided to create a collection of portraits that represented this group of people. Images that I could relate to and hopefully others could too. One of these portraits, an image of my father, was selected as a finalist in the 2007 Bowness Photography prize.
“I recently won the 2007 Victorian Indigenous Art Award (VIAA) for Photography and am currently a finalist in the National Portrait Photography Prize. Both awards selected portraits I had taken of Anthony Mundine. In particular, the image selected for the VIAA’s was a portrait of Anthony Mundine entitled Do You Like What You See? This portrait was taken in response to the Daily Telegraphy boycotting the 2007 fight between Anthony and Pablo Zamora Nievas.
“It’s taken me a long time to find my direction in life, to know that I wanted to be an artist. I had to get to a place where I felt enough confidence in my own perceptions of life, to use those perceptions to make art. I have dabbled widely in photography from photojournalism and social documentary to editorial and portraiture. I am constantly evolving and being influenced by my environment.
“I am an artist who is always questioning myself and everything occurring around me. I try to tap into the social consciousness of a time and express it through imagery. My images and collections are always grounded in explorations of ideas and concepts and often involve taking a personal risk. There is sometimes an element of social justice in my work which can be confrontational at times.
“I have been offered a place at Ballarat University doing a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Fine Arts). I will be starting in 2008, part time. I’m looking forward to being challenged as an artist as well as developing work that incorporates photography with other media.”
Bindi Cole January 2008
