Pottery In Australia Vol 38 No 3 September 1999

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Above: 'Personal Histories' River Reflections, Panel
No. 5. Clay tablets, terrazzo, glass and inlaid brass
fish. The title is in one of the languages of the area.
Right: 'Food' River Reflections, Panel No. 7. Top
left: Italian mother making pasta. Bottom centre:
dining under the old queenslander.
and took off all the labels of the rationed tinned food
that had been given to them by the government. For
months, mealtime brought great surprises!
Another little-known story, goes back to the early
pre-colonial times. One tablet, which consists of an
open fire, illustrates the time when Captain Cook
travelled up the eastern coast of Australia and as he
was sailing past the Innisfail region spotted small fi res
dotting the hillsides. He later learned that these fires
marked the locality of the Aboriginal camps.
Exhaustive researching time was spent collecting these
stories by visiting church groups, community gatherings,
private homes, service groups and clubs and the Innisfail
and District Cultural Society.
By means of interviewing, demographic studies and
seeking archival material gathered from the John Oxley
Library, a comprehensive and conclusive body of material
was gathered. In early 1998 a submission of the project
was presented to the Johnstone Shire Cultural Association
(the commissioning body) and local government, in May
1998, a workshop to fabricate tiles and a works-inprogress
exhibition was held. In October 1998 the
finished artwork was installed in situ. An accompanying
book is now b,ting compiled to complement the visual
rendering of ilie histories revealed in 'River Reflections'.
The official launch of this Arts Queenslan d* funded
public art project** took place in early 1999. oo
*The Public Art Agency has been recently established within Arts
Queensland as the Queensland Government's main agency for the
advice and development of integrated art and design projects. The
agency's inaugural grant recipient under the Collaborative design fund
is the Johnstone Shire Cultural agency with its River Reflections project.
**The Queensland Government's 1998 Art Policy ensures that 2% of
the budget of all State Government capital works building projects
will be spent on integrated art and design and will set a precedent
in Australia, in its breadth and magnitude, while reinforcing the
cultural foundations of the State of Queensland.
Bonnie English, Senior Lecturer in Art Theory,
Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.
38/3 SEPTEMBER 1999 + POTTERY IN A USTRALIA 51