Neon Parc | Blak Flags

Kait James
‘Blak Flags’

Brunswick
15 Nov.–14 Dec.
2024

Request preview

Neon Parc is thrilled to announce ‘Blak Flags’, a new exhibition by Kait James, with the official opening on Friday 29 November 6-8pm in Brunswick. Kait James is a proud Wadawurrung artist whose work boldly challenges stereotypical representations of Indigenous culture, drawing from both her Indigenous and Anglo heritage. Through her art, she critiques and subverts the often narrow and homogenised depictions of Aboriginal identity in Australia, offering a deeper, more nuanced exploration of history, culture, and self-determination.

For Kait’s second major project with Neon Parc, the artist has made a series of nostalgic triangular flags based on flag pennants of the 1960’s and 1970’s. As an extension of her well-known works which utilise found Australiana or ‘Aboriginalia’ tea towels, the pennant flags reference souvenir commodities which could be found in tourist gift shops, surf clubs or community centres. Bought or given as a memento of a time or place, or collected on a trip around Australia, pennant flags would often use the name of a place or town but would never acknowledge the complex history of the land and its traditional owners. By recontextualising these kitsch souvenirs—that historically diminish and stereotype Aboriginal identity—James transforms them into powerful statements laden with pop-cultural and political references.

Hung in the gallery in a festoon formation, the colours of the flags are bright and bold. Each flag combines provocative political texts in retro fonts, with striking visual iconography. “Still here”, (2024) is written in a groovy seventies typeface and borrows from the language of protest by featuring the hand of resistance, gripped and raised. “Unsettled” (2024) is written in prison break font and next to it, the remnants of Captain Cook’s vandalized statue in St. Kilda. With his body cut off, only his feet remain on the colonial statue – the words “The colony will fall” now graffitied in spray paint. “Invasion”, (2024) utilizes the Australian Telecom logo from 1975–1993 (now known as Telstra), which has two black shapes inside a circle - which visually verges on classic depictions of alien heads. Stamped into the ground, the symbol appeared throughout the country’s infrastructure as telephone poles were installed – as they were connected, an invisible infrastructure began operating too. Installed by colonisers and imbedded into the land, “Invasion” plays with ideas around both stolen land and the paranormal.

In the wake of the crippling loss of the 2023 Voice Referendum, Kait’s work has taken on a direct and unapologetically political intensity. Rather than subtlety weaving political elements into her rich and layered works, she has pared back her artworks, using them to bring attention to a singular message. By strongly stating “Land Back”, “You are on stolen land” or asking, “Whose Country are you on?” she reclaims her critical voice, that despite the devastation incited by the Referendum outcome, galvanises the urgency to address the enduring inequality faced by First Nations people, and the ongoing impacts of colonial control, violence and systemic disempowerment.

‘Blak Flags’ challenges colonial conceptions of culture, questioning broader societal understanding and erasure of Indigenous knowledge in contemporary Australia. While creating works that are provocative, critical and politically charged, James endeavours to navigate the ongoing effects of colonialism with optimism and humour, ultimately speaking of hope and resilience. By navigating these injustices with a blend of wit and tongue-in-cheek warmth, her works speak to the enduring strength of Indigenous communities and the importance of reclaiming cultural narratives.

Acknowledgement and respect is given to the late artist and activist, Destiny Deacon (KuKu, Erub/Mer) who first coined the term ‘Blak’.

Artworks

(27)

Exhibitions (3)

‘Blak Flags’
Brunswick
15 Nov.–14 Dec.
2024

‘Red Flags’
Warrnambool Art Gallery
12 Oct.–23 Feb.
2025

‘Dirty Laundry’
City
16 Sep.–15 Oct.
2022

Biography Kait James

Kait James is a proud Wadawurrung artist whose work challenges Indigenous culture stereotypes through her Indigenous and Anglo heritage. Predominantly working with textiles, James’s work combines fabric collage, embroidery, rug tufting techniques, and incorporating ‘Aboriginalia’, which generalises and stereotypes Indigenous culture. By combining these kitsch ‘souvenirs’—that diminish and homogenise Aboriginal identity—with pop-cultural and political references, subverting colonial conceptions and questioning the collective lack of knowledge of Indigenous culture in Australian society. While creating works that are potent and politically charged, James endeavours to navigate injustices with optimism and humour, ultimately speaking of hope, resilience, and self-determination.