Taring Padi
ABOUT THE EVENT
In an act of translocal solidarity, the Indonesian art workers collective Taring Padi collaborated with artists Sharyn Egan (Noongar), Yabini Kickett (Ballardong, Whadjuk), Ilona McGuire (Whadjuk, Ballardong, Yuat, Kungarakan) and Tyrown Waigana (Wardandi Noongar, Ait Koedhal) to create a new banner.
Painted onsite in AGWA’s entry foyer, this newly commissioned work vividly expresses the power of solidarity, education, cultural traditions and collective action to heal and resist systemic injustices across Indonesia and Western Australia.
The painting carries two titles: Narbiny nguluk nidja doorntj baarniny, moorditj dooytj-doornt (Care together, strong together), an expression in Noongar of resistance grounded in unity and compassion; and Rakyat Bersatu tak bisa dikalahkan (The People united cannot be defeated), an Indonesian protest slogan that resonates with global social justice movements.
At its core, the banner’s imagery celebrates solidarity within and beyond its creators’ communities. Central to the composition are two circles of people gathered around a campfire in harmonious defiance of the ongoing tensions created by colonisation. These symbols of equality and mutual recognition embody the saying: Duduk sama rendah berdiri sama tinggi (Sitting down same low, standing up same high), and provide a positive counter to the polarising politics of resentment and exclusion.
Other solutions also emerge. Ochre and charcoal evoke traditional land care practices, and the resilience found in strengthening traditional knowledge systems; whereas, depictions of local plants, animals, freedom fighters and community demonstrations offer a contrast to the flashes of toxic smoke, caricatures of corruption and other symbols of systemic violence. The work confronts the failure of successive governments to address the environmental degradation caused by mining, deforestation and land grabbing, as well as the over incarceration of Indigenous children and the prevalence of Indigenous deaths in custody. The work provokes us to think about how these localised issues are part of larger interconnected structures of oppression.