Robert Fielding

Mutuka

This car once drove upon the land of Mimili on the APY Lands. Mimili was called Everard Park Station back then. From its resting place on the edge of community, Mutuka has watched its surroundings change. This Beetle, icon of an era of great social change, witnessed the handback of Everard Park Station to Anangu traditional owners and the subsequent renaming of community.

Robert Fielding brought the car and its memories back into the folds of contemporary life in Mimili, providing space for stories and memories to resurface. By sandblasting into the rusted surface Robert draws attention to the cultural memories of Mimili that have existed and continue to exist beneath, withstanding through endless change.

The soundscape within the car has been recorded in collaboration with Elders Kunmanara (Ngupulya) Pumani, Tuppy Goodwin and Puna Yanima. It tells of their memories during the handback of Everard Park Station in 1972, and the resilience of Tjukurpa and Culture during this time of transition. The recording contains Maku Tjukurpa from a site called Antara, located near Mimili Community. It has been approved for public display as part of Tarnanthi by the custodians of this Tjukurpa.

18 October 2019 - 27 January 2020

Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
Art Gallery of South Australia
North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia

 

Installation images courtesy of Saul Steed for the Art Gallery of South Australia