Blog

Written by Dr Geraldine Mate

Contemporary First Nations artists work across a wide range of media including metal, textiles and ceramics. Through these diverse practices, artists explore cultural expression in both traditional and non-traditional forms, while also examining colonial representations of the past and reclaiming cultural identity and knowledge through artistic practice.  

At Queensland Museum, we hold a rich selection of ceramic pieces created by First Nations artists over the last 50 years. Today’s contemporary ceramic artists continue a longstanding tradition of cultural expression through pottery, a tradition shaped by individual ceramic artists such as Thanakupi, as well as pottery cooperatives such as the Barambah Pottery (Cherbourg) and Yarrabah Pottery (far north Queensland).   

Established in 1969, Barambah Pottery is regarded as the earliest Indigenous art organisation in Queensland. Operating successfully for 17 years, the pottery provided training and employment opportunities for a generation of potters from the Cherbourg community, many of whom became recognised for their profound creative talent. The development of the pottery studio at Cherbourg marked an important shift in the production of Aboriginal tourist-ware, with Aboriginal art made by Aboriginal people, rather than the ‘widespread production’ of ‘Aboriginalia’ created by non-Indigenous ceramicists.  

Barambah Pottery adapted European ceramic forms – including mugs, salt and pepper shakers and decorative wares and – and used conventional glaze finishes but incorporated stylised Aboriginal motifs drawn from cultural knowledge. This approach enabled artists to express and maintain cultural identity during a period when opportunities for independent Indigenous artistic practice were constrained by systems of government control and institutional oversight. ^i,ii  N Beyond the production of ceramics, the studio was seen [valued?] in the community as a place of training, arts education and employment.   Sadly, many of the individual artists of the ceramics produced at the Barambah pottery are unidentifiable as the pieces were made under the “Barambah Pottery” brand as a ‘factory’ output and not signed by individual artists.  

In 2017, thirty years after the Barambah Pottery workshop closed in 1987, the Ration Shed at Cherbourg initiated the ReFire project, which aimed to re-establish the rich ceramic work of Barambah.ⁱ Biri and Gungarri artist Rocko (Robert) Langton, was the last employee of Barambah Pottery, and participated in the ReFire project. At the time of the project he remarked that “Doing it again made me think about the old days … and how much has changed”.ⁱ  The ReFire initiative has brought back creative ceramic production, and is seeing a re-emergence of contemporary artists working in clay.ⁱⁱ  Artists such as Gungarri man Kane Brunjes and Biri Biri and Wakka Wakka ceramicist Robyn Langton have brought new creative flair and techniques to the pieces while continuing the commitment to cultural expression. 

Established in the coastal Aboriginal community of Yarrabah near Cairns in 1972ⁱⁱⁱ,   Yarrabah Pottery was established as part of a mid-twentieth century Queensland state government initiative encouraging the production of artefacts as a source of economic viability for First Nations communities. Initially founded as a community training centre for ceramics, the pottery quickly developed into a state-sponsored commercial enterprise. At that time, Yarrabah was one of only two First Nations community potteries in Queensland, alongside Cherbourg. In his essay examining the Queensland Aboriginal Creations (QAC) initiative, Michael Aird describes the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and the state-run QAC to be a complex intersection of state controls, cultural appropriation, cultural knowledge and the agency and creativity of the artists who made a range of works for the tourism markets.^iv  

Among the founding and long-standing potters at Yarrabah were Gungani artist Connie (Cornelius) Richards and Gunggandji artists Christopher Harris and Eddy (Edward) Deemara, who are regarded as the three most prolific potters from the late 1970s through to the 1990s. Yarrabah ceramics are known for the distinctive carved designs that feature fauna of the area including aquatic animals such as turtles, crocodiles, barramundi and dugongs, as well as terrestrial animals such as lizards, snakes and kangaroos. Through these works, artists adapted traditional motifs and knowledge into commercially produced ceramics that also carried educational and cultural significance. Cornelius Richards, who continued working at Yarrabah into the 1990s, recognised the potential of ceramics as an educational tool. In 2002, Richards created a range of functional wares – a series of plates – to tell the story of place, narrating the history of Yarrabah since the arrival of the missionaries.  

The ceramic traditions established at Yarrabah in the 1970s have continued into the present day. Following the withdrawal of government support in 1987, the studio evolved into a Community-led enterprise and today operates as an active part of the Yarrabah Arts Centre.  

The incised decorative techniques that became a defining feature of the Yarrabah Pottery in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s also share a visual connection with the ceramic practice of renowned Thainakuith artist Thanakupi, who began working in ceramics in the early 1970s before later establishing her own studio near Cairns. Widely regarded as Australia’s first Indigenous ceramic artist, Thanakupi developed her ceramic practice at the East Sydney Technical College (link). Like the artists of Yarrabah and Cherbourg, Thanakupi embedded cultural knowledge through the motifs and decorative practices she applied to her pottery.    

Contemporary First Nations ceramic artists continue to expand the possibilities of the medium, using ceramics to reinterpret historical narratives, cultural memory and traditional knowledge in ways that embody and affirm cultural continuity. Queensland artist and Ngadjon-jii Mamu man, Danie Mellor situates his art in the relationship between First Nations people, cultural knowledge and historical representations of landscapes. His ceramic shield, created in 2003 was gifted to Jirrbal Elder Dr Ernie Grant, who mentored Danie as a young artist. The shield is influenced by the traditional shape and decoration of a rainforest shield of north Queensland but created with contemporary materials and glazes. 

Today, First Nations artists continue to respond to complex social and cultural histories through diverse artistic practices that share stories, knowledge and lived experience. Explore works by these influential First Nations artists in Fragile and Forever: Ceramics from the Queensland Museum Collection, a free exhibition at Queensland Museum Kurilpa