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IMAGES OF RECONCILIATION

• A resource from
• RECONCILIATION AUSTRALIA
• and
• Dare To Lead
• Produced by Billy Gordon (Reconciliation
  Australia)
• Jacquie Taylor (Dare to Lead)

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What do you personally understand by the term
Reconciliation?

• Reflect upon
• Personal acts that demonstrate a commitment to
  Reconciliation
• Activities within your workplace that are
  easily identifiable as acts of Reconciliation

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(No Transcript)
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Key Questions for all images

• What do you think the artist is saying to you ?
• What words come to mind when you look at this
  picture ?
• What symbols have been used in constructing this
  picture and what do they represent ?
• Do you agree with the sentiments represented in
  this picture ? If so, why? If not, why not ?
• What sort of image would you construct to present
  or represent your beliefs, thoughts, feelings
  and/or ideas about Reconciliation ?

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• How does this picture make you feel ?
• What traditional significance do snakes or
  serpents have for Aboriginal people ?
• What is the artist saying by depicting the snake
  in a specimen jar ?

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Identify the historical and current issues
surrounding Indigenous people and the Australian
legal system. What has changed ? What still needs
to be changed ?
Are traditional Indigenous laws observed and
recognised in Australia ?
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What does each of the flags represent ? The four
people are represented standing on a rise looking
up and out . What does this represent ?
The four people have been photographed from a
below hero shot. Why did the artist do this
? What does the picture say about identity
personal and Australian ?
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What can you tell from this rubbish heap ? What
has been used ? What has been discarded ? What
else belongs in this garbage heap ?
Look at the food remains and packaging in the
garbage. What sort of food is it ? What are the
issues surrounding food and Indigenous health
both in the past and today ?
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What is the mood of this picture ? What role do
you think art plays in effecting change in
society ?
Respect, listening and working together are
values identified by the artist of the painting
as being important in working towards
Reconciliation. What other values may be on the
hands covered by the people in the photograph ?
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This image both explicitly and implicitly
identifies some issues standing in the way of
Reconciliation. What are they ?
What other issues affecting Indigenous people do
you think need to be resolved ? What feelings
are expressed in this picture ?
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Hands are a powerful symbol in Indigenous art,
culture and politics. Each of these images of
hands is expressing something different what
are the artists of each of the pictures saying
? How does each of these pictures make you feel
? Do you think there is any symbolic significance
in the way the black and white hands have been
placed ? What does the placement of the hands
say about power and Reconciliation ?
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Why have the artists of these pictures not used
human images ? What is the strong message shared
by each ?
Footprints have been frequently used in
traditional and contemporary Aboriginal art.
Usually this art depicts the print of a bare
foot. What is the artist saying with this image
of a shoeprint ?
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Why has this artist used the game of football as
an image of Reconciliation ? In what way is
football significant to Indigenous history and
culture ? How/Why has the football team been used
as a symbol ?
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Why has the artist placed the shoes in a circle
? What does the circle symbolise ? Why are there
only shoes depicted ? What point does that make
? What difference would it make to the message
of the picture if the feet were bare ?
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Further Questions

• What is Reconciliation ?
• What does Reconciliation mean to you ?
• What does it mean in an Australian context ?
• Why is Reconciliation desirable ?
• What is the opposite of Reconciliation ?
• Who is responsible for making it happen ?
• In what way could it be said that the symbols of
  Reconciliation become more important than
  practical actions ?