As an Aboriginal Artist, I find that there is a fine line in painting.
I have been painting since the age of five, with my nan Carol Martin teaching me how to paint, and I will always take her advice, painting with her and asking her questions.
I was taught to paint the colours of my country, the animals and plants that are exclusively on my country; To tell the stories of my land, to paint what you know.
When I look at a piece of artwork from different mobs and different nations, I should be able to read it like a book. Art is a form of truth-telling and intergenerational transmission of knowledge.
The method of painting with mob is an art itself, gathering together as mob is a form of decolonisation. Ultimately, expressing Blak joy and practicing culture is a form of protest.
Cultural appropriation is utilising elements of another culture or other mob's art style without asking for permission to use their artforms or commercialising culture without consent.
As mob, it is important to maintain the integrity of our art by honouring the knowledge holders of our mob. Previously, knowledge exchange between adjacent cultural groups was a currency that was used wisely.
Aboriginal Art reads like a book, when you appropriate art, it is equivalent to reading a book with a melting pot of different languages, making your artwork incomprehensible and undercutting the integrity of your art.
For myself, I believe those who commercialise that art should always ask for permission directly from the artist. Indeed, instead of asking permission to use that intellectual property, how about giving those artists those opportunities? Especially if you are a renowned artist, it is important to uplift other artists and give them a platform to tell their story, as some stories are not meant to be told by others.
More often than not, the intellectual property of those that are appropriated comes from communities that face disadvantages.
In the face of colourism, it's said that darker skinned artists don't get their flowers unless it's on their graves.
Posthumous appreciation is not enough; give your time, energy and money directly to those who have been enriched with knowledge while they are alive. Improve the quality of their lives through closing the gap of intergenerational poverty. Those commissions can be the difference between making rent, affording food, putting fuel in the car, and affording much-needed medications that do not fall under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
Companies asking for artworks that fit the corporate values is a different situation. It is important to focus on the land on which you practice business, and the stories that are associated with that Country, not to make up a story that promotes corporate values, as capitalism was never a part of our culture. The real riches are the knowledge that we possess.
It is especially a stab in the back if it is a company that actively engages in the destruction of country and culture. Do not use Aboriginal Art to justify your company's wrongdoings, as these tokenistic gestures do not equate to the structural reform we need to see.
Leanne Dijlandi Dolby is a proud Yamatji Naaguja Nunda and Noongar Wudjeri yorga from their Mother's side having ties to Jambinu, the traditional name of Geraldton, and Noongar Wudjeri – from Kepa Kurl having ties to Esperance. Leanne's Father is Yawuru, Gija, Gooniyandi and Bardi-Jawi Jarndu.
