Collection Details

Name/TitleGubangala Gumadangyiningi (Let’s honour his/her spirit)

About this objectGubangala Gumadangyiningi (Let's honour his/her spirit) (2018) is the result of a collaboration between Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert, Darug woman Julie Bukari Jones (Webb) and ten children and families from Blacktown. This project recollects and reimagines the names and personalities of the young Aboriginal and Maori children that were removed from their families and taken to the Blacktown Native Institution. It was first presented at major public event Ngara – Ngurangwa Byallara (Listen, hear, think – The Place Speaks) on Saturday 9 June 2018 on the site of the Blacktown Native Institution, and re-presented on Cockatoo Island at the Bienalle of Sydney, 2020.

A series of lanyards and portraits were created, each representing an individual child who was taken to the Institution, projecting their personalities, identities, likes and dislikes. When these objects are worn, we carry the responsibility for continuing the memories of these children. We are able to embody them, sharing the sights, smells and sounds that we experience in the present moment.

The stories of these children are not limited to the Native Institution site or Blacktown. They are stories that connect to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, it is the story of our shared history. These objects can be presented in museums, galleries and institutions nationally and internationally; it is a story about humanity and our ability to heal our inherited histories. History serves no purpose unless we remember it, activate it, and draw lessons from it.

Gubangala Gumadangyiningi (Let's honour his/her spirit) pays respect to the traditional owners of the site, the peoples of the Darug nation and acknowledges the countless generations that have always cared for the place, their Country. When we reflect upon the complexity and significance of Country, it is not limited to the physical grounds we stand on, but the histories and experiences absorbed by that land.

Participants were invited to take a moment to connect with the site; to consider that the place has an active memory. As they stood there, they became its most recent memory and part of a contemporary ceremony, an action and process marks the beginning of change.

Participants were invited to take a leaf of the provided paper and gift a positive memory to the re-imagined children in writing. Once the memory was imparted, participants placed it in the basket that was carefully woven by the hands of Julie Bukari Jones (Webb) and Corina Marino. This paper, now inscribed with memories, is embedded with the seeds of local plants. In time this paper will be buried in this site and will sprout new life, reinstating endemic flora and gently healing the ecosystem.

Emily McDaniel
February 2019

MakerAlbert, Tony

Maker RoleArtist

Date Made2018

Medium and MaterialsVarious - painting and drawing on found objects, weavings, seeds

Place MadeOceania, Australia, New South Wales, Sydney, Blacktown

Techniquesculpted

Measurementsoverall variable, dependent on installation display

Named CollectionBlacktown City Art Collection

Credit Line© Tony Albert
Acquired 2018, Ngara – Ngurangwa Byallara (Listen, hear, think – The Place Speaks) project
Blacktown City Art Collection
Photo: silversalt Photography

Object TypeMixed media

Object numberBCC ABT 001