From the Collection is an ongoing series of exhibitions, research residencies and programs that invites people from the local community to explore and present artworks from the collection of Penrith Regional Gallery. Inspired by the legacy of Margo Lewers and her desire for the collection to be shared with the people of Penrith, From the Collection provides unprecedented access to the cultural jewel of Penrith and asks people to express what this means to them.
Leanne Tobin is a multi-disciplinary artist of Irish, English and Aboriginal heritage descending from the Buruberong and Wumali clans of the Dharug, the traditional Aboriginal people of the Greater Sydney region. Tobin works collaboratively with community groups, local schools and institutions using her art to tell local stories and to evoke an environmental conscience and respect towards the land and its original people. Leanne also grew up in Emu Plains, and now resides in Springwood, where she works to encourage an open and honest dialogue about the past.
When Leanne was invited to research our collection, her first response was, ‘Where are the works by Dharug artists?’ Our answer was revealing. Penrith Regional Gallery has a rich collection of works by leading Aboriginal artists from across Australia, but none by Dharug practitioners.
Tobin’s curated selection is both considered and sharply pointed. Works by artists from each Australian state have been selected using the Aboriginal notion of Ngurra as a guiding principle. Ngurra appears in many different Aboriginal language groups, translating to English as home, camp, a place of belonging or a place of inclusion. Importantly, Tobin’s selection of works brings together traditional and contemporary Aboriginal practices, to explore the vast array of symbolism, significance and storytelling that exists within this visual language. Ngurra evokes a sense of belonging that comes from within the land rather than overlaid onto it.
Through the process of working with Tobin on the project, the artist has made the generous offer of donating an artwork to join those of display as part of our collection. The Door (Bungaree’s Dilemma) presents the decline of the relationship between British Government and Garigal man Bungaree, who became one of the first Aboriginal envoys used to try to communicate with and encourage compliance. Bungaree is known by the many portraits depicting him in a tricorn hat and red military coat that was given to him. Here, Bungaree is imagined peering through the door of a Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Around his neck is a breast plate with his newly appointed title, ‘King of the Broken Bay Tribe’. This was a token adornment awarded to various Aboriginal men based on their usefulness to the colonists. It was also a feeble attempt to find a leader in a culture that did not elevate individuals as such, with the idea of kings and royalty being a concept that was foreign to the people of Sydney.
