This lovely photograph is part of the final reflection to "Aboriginal Australia" of one of the students in the class, Abigail Amalton. She describes it:'PRESENCE' is a representation of a world in which all of time exists in the present moment. Images representing the prehistoric/natural past, the historical past and the current post-industrial era blend together in a single space. Objects from all timelines exist simultaneously - they do not follow a linear progression separate from each other.
She follows this thought to a sort of politics of multiculturalism, grounded in an Aboriginal-inspired sense that there are things we don't and perhaps won't understand.
Do we have to understand something fully to allow it a place in this world?
This world is not merely for us. I do not believe we have the right to eliminate from the world anything that we find incompatible with our way of life. It is arrogant (and plainly incorrect) to believe that the human experience is limited only to what is within our cultural boundaries.
Not unlike a young child, the mainstream of the dominant culture in this world is insistent on demanding how exactly the world should conform to its wishes. But perhaps it now needs to listen instead of dictate.
I wonder what it will take for people to listen.
---
I do not understand Aboriginal culture. This does not mean I cannot seek to protect it.
