It is a poignant moment for Albert, who was originally featured as an artist in the first season, to return to NITV's Indigenous contemporary arts program, Colour Theory. “I never imagined I would be hosting this third iteration. It is an honour and a privilege. This new series showcases the diverse cultural expression of Australia, where through art, we can come to understand the world we live in.”
The show delves into the personal journey of five artists, allowing them to tell their own vibrant stories through their history, through their culture and through their art.
“The stories, passion and talent of the artists featured is incredibly inspiring - despite their differences in geography, medium, artistic training and conceptual concerns, they are all united by a sense of pride and belief in their culture.”
This season showcases a unique artistic partnership between Julie Freeman and her son Clive. At one with their Galamban (home country) they revitalize traditional Yuin cultural practices by incorporating them into their art. They use ‘the materials of country to tell the stories of country’ gathering reeds, shells and ochre from the shores of Wreck Bay, on the New South Wales South Coast.
Episode two follows artist Karla Dickens, whose lifelong search for belonging has taken her from a tumultuous coming of age in Sydney to the idyllic setting of the NSW Northern Hinterlands. Occasionally assisted by her young daughter Ginger, Karla collects from her from local recycling depots and secondhand stores with a bowerbird’s eye for "rusty, crusty things that have got a history" in order to create her contemporary collages, sculptures and installations.
Stories from her Yaegl ancestors inspire the art of Frances Belle Parker, the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Blake Art Prize. In her home studio in the township of Maclean she shares her sadness of the town’s Scottish ancestry engulfing her own culture. Tony Albert visits Ulgundahi Island on the Clarence River, the "sacred heartbeat of the Yaegl people", with the artist, her mother and her daughter to discuss its inspiration for one of Frances’ major installations.
Sydney-based artist Jason Wing grew up in "two worlds" between the suburbs of Cabramatta "Western Sydney’s Chinatown" and the bushland of his Biripi ancestors. Jason brings the unique fusion of his dual heritage to his artwork, working with present day iconography and repurposing found objects. Much of Jason’s work in is response to the truism "history is written by the victors" and so Jason writes his own history in his sculptures and installations that shed light on the hidden elements of Australia's past.
