Indigenous Art, Culture and Design: Week 1: Colour Theory with Richard Bell: Reko Rennie

[image source NITV]

Last week on Thursday night I really enjoyed being introduced to Richard Bell's NITV program Colour Theory. Through this show, Bell interviews contemporary artists from Australia's Indigenous community, showcasing a range of media from painting and sculpture to new media. According to the NITV website, previous episodes have featured one of my favourite directors Warwick Thornton and South Australian artist Nici Cumpston. Last week he interviewed someone I was unfamiliar with, Reko Rennie, whose work is also currently featured on the latest cover of Artlink Indigenous. Rennie is a very interesting predominantly street artist who creates vibrant, saturated works that populate the world.

Reko Rennie

[image source Space Craft Australia]

I think what I love most about Rennie's work is its relationship with colour. The bright pinks, greens, blues and purples are not what may usually be associated with the idea of Indigenous art, and yet the forms and image references he employs are often associated with this iconography, so his work stays true to his Indigenous heritage whilst being individualistic and modern. My first reaction to the work was that it reminded me of both Pop and Op art, which historically have been associated with the western, anglophile world. Therefore, Rennie creates a certain rebranding of history, claiming a foothold in the history of western art from which even until recently had been forbidden from Indigenous artists.

TRUST THE 2%, 2013, Acrylic, MDF and gold, 19 x 14 m

[image source Reko Rennie]

Despite what the viewer may initially feel of Rennie's work, there is a fascinating depth to the work, commonly concerned with the Stolen Generation period of Australian history, the position of Indigenous Australians as the original custodians of the land, and the uneasy relationship between white and Indigenous Australians which remains today. In the program, Rennie stated that he can forgive the history of white persecution of the Indigenous population, but he cannot forget it, so in a way his art stands as a voice towards further and more persistant efforts towards reconciliation.

Original, 2012, Acrylic, spray paint, black light and reclaimed Australian flag from the 1950s

[image source Reko Rennie]

Overall I have realised that I simply love his work. The graphic qualities of it capture my attention immediately, and then the political messages his work predominantly wishes to convey retain it. It surprised me to find out that Rennie takes a lot of inspiration from the land and frequently visits the bush to take photos which spark his inspiration. He is also inspired by the diversity of the city, particularly Melbourne where he lives, and I find it compelling that he is able to combine the dualities of the bush and the city in such an easily comprehended manner. I think Rennie has been very clever to develop a style of work with aesthetic value as well as a social one, although I suppose this is the concern of most street art. I would be curious to further study his work as I am excited to see what coming projects he has in store. I also can't wait for this week's edition of Colour Theory!