Thursday, May 6th, 2010
Wanjina art competition ‘hurts Mowanjum people’
by Geoff Vivian
Vesna Tenodi with the carvings she commissioned
A competition to create Wanjina art is being conducted in Australia and Europe without Traditional Owners’ approval.
It is being run by a New South Wales gallery owner, who offended Mowanjum artists and lawmen last year by commissioning and displaying a large Wanjina stone carving on her Blue Mountains property.
Donny Woolagodja retouching a Wanjina in a remote Kimberley cave
Mowanjum Art Centre manager Jenny Wright is asking artists to boycott the competition, which she describes as a misuse of sacred imagery.
“I would like to point out to artists it is a very wrong thing and it has caused a lot of hurt,” she said.
“It’s not appropriation, it’s influence and inspiration,” said gallery owner Vesna Tenodi.
“So many artists are inspired by (Aboriginal) imagery, going back to (1920s Australian artist) Margaret Preston.”
Mowanjum Art Centre chairman Donny Woolagoodja visited her Katoomba gallery in March.
According to local media she refused to meet Mr Woolagoodja, who is a senior Wandjina artist and Worora lawman.
Instead she reportedly told Mr Woolagoodja, who regularly visits ancestral Wanjina cave paintings to ceremonially refresh the colours, to read a book she had written.
However another report says Ms Tenodi invited him into the gallery.
“I hoped we could talk, but he kept looking at his minder who was standing next to him, who kept shaking his head and wouldn’t allow Donny to say anything,” she said in an interview with a Melbourne Croation community newspaper.
Ms Wright said Mr Woolagoodja visited Ms Tenodi’s gallery specifically to ask her to stop displaying the images.
“When Donny Woolagoodja, custodian of the coastal Wanjinas, went to visit her and asked her not to continue she just ignored him,” said Ms Wright.
“He said she would not listen.”
Ms Tenodi denied this.
“He declined my offer to come in and talk with me about my project,” she said.
” I kept trying to reach him throughout last year,” she said.
“He said ‘yes I know’ but didn’t tell me why he didn’t return my calls.”
She said there is no copyright law that prohibits any artists from creating Wanjina art.
“We are doing nothing wrong and they should talk to me,” she said.
Mr Woolagoodja created the giant Wanjina figure seen by millions of people worldwide at Sydney 2000 Olympics opening ceremony.
Sydney Olympic games opening pageant 2000
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