Christian Thompson is a Bidjara man from Barcaldine in central west Queensland. Spending a lot of his childhood travelling around Australia while his father worked for the Royal Australian Air Force, art became Christian’s creative outlet. In adulthood, he has also travelled widely, most often in the course of his studies and for exhibitions. But his artworks continue to embody a closeness and respect for family and Country. In this way, always maintaining the essence of where he is from, he has been able to calibrate who he is and how he exists in the world. The artist takes great honour in being a custodian of the stories of his family and sharing his culture with a wider audience.
At the core of Christian Thompson’s work is a sense of exploration. He sees identity as having many influences and layers. It is not static, but constantly evolving in relation to the world around us. He recognises these nuances of the self and challenges prevailing stereotypes and ideas of gender and racial identity.
The photographic works in the series Australian Graffiti are all inspired by memories of growing up in the outback. Blooming desert flowers would animate the bush, with a soft palette and muted tones.
When we were kids, my grandmother would always say: ‘Go out to the bush—all the desert flowers have come into bloom.’ The bush would really change at that time of year. All these beautiful flowers would bloom, and you’d get muted purples and pinks and yellows—amazing colours. Australian Graffiti is really an expression of that. A lot of my work is connected to my memories of growing up in western Queensland in Barcaldine, so I decided to make these headdresses out of native Australian flowers. There’s kangaroo paw, eucalyptus, flannel flower, banksia, another eucalyptus, banksia leaves. I was looking at the idea of our connection to nature, and the flowers as a symbol of that–also the idea of the flowers as a symbol of patriotism or representing Country in this beautiful way. I had to go to hospital before I made this series, and the whole time I thought I really wanted to make a series that’s bright and full of life, and full of colour. So, this series came out of that experience and is a combination of memories, lived experience and my immediate environment.
— Christian Thompson
Transcribed from a conversation between Christian Thompson and students from the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School at MUMA on 9 May 2017.
Discussion Prompts and Learning Activities
As a class, brainstorm a list of words to describe Untitled (Banksia), including adjectives and nouns. What might these words suggest about Christian Thompson’s art and practice?
Australian Graffiti explores Christian Thompson’s childhood memories of growing up in the outback. What are the places that are significant to you? Discuss.
What kind of symbols does Christian Thompson use in Australian Graffiti? Research other images from this series and analyse how the flowers, gestures, facial expressions and adornments create meaning within the artworks.
How has Christian Thompson used art elements including colour and texture to direct and focus your attention on different parts of the image?
Do you think Untitled (Banksia) is a self-portrait of Christian Thompson, or is he using his face and body to represent something else in the artwork? Discuss.
Using Christian Thompson’s photography as a starting point, strike a pose and take centre stage in an artwork of your own. Explore props, costumes, backdrops and lighting to create an artwork around a theme of your choice. Work in groups and exchange roles as photographer, producer and subject in the studio.
