COLOUR THEORY WITH TONY ALBERT
Director James Falconer Marshall
NITV / SBS
4x26 Minute Documentary (Series 3)
It is a poignant moment for Albert, who was originally featured as an artist in the first season, to return to NITV's Indigenous contemporary arts program, Colour Theory. “I never imagined I would be hosting this third iteration. It is an honour and a privilege. This new series showcases the diverse cultural expression of Australia, where through art, we can come to understand the world we live in.”
The show delves into the personal journey of five artists, allowing them to tell their own vibrant stories through their history, through their culture and through their art.
JASON WING
Episode 1
Jason Wing grew up in ‘two worlds’, between the suburbs of Cabramatta, known as ‘western Sydney’s Chinatown’, and the bushland of his Biripi ancestors. Jason brings the unique artistic fusion that expresses his dual heritage to the people of Sydney, from Parliament House to the busy streets of Chinatown, Redfern and Kings Cross. In response to the truism that ‘history is written by the victors’, Jason writes his own ‘history’ in sculptures and installations that can literally shed light on the dark and hidden parts of the city – and Australia’s history. Through his art, Jason courageously pricks the national conscience, but his quest for the truth has significant personal consequences.
FRANCES BELL PARKER
Episode 2
Memories of stories told by her Yaegl ancestors inspire the contemporary art of Frances Belle Parker. In her home studio in the township of Maclean, on the Clarence River in northern NSW, Frances creates “mind maps” of her country - part of a flourishing cultural renaissance. The “sacred heartbeat of the Yaegl people” is Ulgundahi Island, on the Clarence River - the creative touchstone for a major installation Frances is working on. Tony Albert visits the island with three generations of Yaegl women - the artist, her mother and daughter. As Frances’ installation progresses it brings to light the hidden histories of Maclean.
CLIVE AND JULIE FREEMAN
Episode 3
The unique artistic partnership of Julie Freeman and her son Clive is at one with their galamban (home country). As Yuin cultural custodians they employ “the materials of country to tell stories of country”. Reeds, shells and ochre gathered from the shores of Wreck Bay, on the south coast of NSW, all find a place in the vibrant artistic panoply of their lives. Yet, this is not a tradition trapped in the past. Clive’s art expresses new “pathways” for translating an ancient heritage in a contemporary world, while Julie reveals that there is more to this art than meets the eye as “sometimes the hands that make things are not only yours”.
KARLA DICKENS
Episode 4
Karla Dickens’ lifelong search for belonging has taken her from a tumultuous coming of age in Sydney to the idyllic rural setting of NSW’s northern hinterlands, with years of self-imposed exile and recovery in between. Art has played a vital role in Karla’s journey and her contemporary collages, sculptures and installations reflect a personal story of picking up the pieces of her life. Now with her young daughter and sometime collaborator, Ginger by her side, Karla haunts local recycling depots and secondhand stores with a bowerbird’s eye for “rusty, crusty things that have got a history”. Proving that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Karla’s work serves to “remind people how greedy they can be”.