Tony ALBERT

born 1981, Townsville, Queensland
lives and works Brisbane, Queensland

Like many young contemporary artists, Albert’s practice is interdisciplinary. He employs a range of media and applications to create 2D wall art, sculpture and installation based works. Central to his practice, is the exploration and examination of representations of Indigenous Australians. Provoked by what the artist states as stereotypical representation of Indigenous Australians in mainstream culture, his ironic use of wordplay, paintings and wall based installations examine cultural alienation and displacement experienced by Indigenous Australians - that is, the demographic majority of Aboriginal people in Australia.

Albert’s most recent work recycles genuine Aboriginalia (kitsch Australiana), including mass-produced objects such as black velvet painting produced in Australia during the 1950s and 60s. These velvet paintings were very popular over the last half century as home decorations. Many of these velvet paintings were signed by "Martinus" and like many relics from that period were characterized by their depictions of Aboriginal people as unsophisticated, simple "noble savages". These romantic, cute or sexualised representations of Indigenous people enable white Australians of that era to have a "comfortable" emotional albeit unrealistic connection to Indigenous people.

Albert unashamedly reclaims these velvet paintings through altering the context in which these objects are understood. He uses the languages of politics and pop to re-connect these pictures with reality and a contemporary context. Over-laid text is stenciled onto the velvet paintings to reclaims the faces of the helpless, the sanitised and the sexualized, transforming them into complex characters that mischievously reinvent themselves and assert a modern identity. Albert’s stenciled text slogans are derived from pop songs, patriotic nursery rhymes, advertising, political speeches and life stories. A new identity is finally given to these velvet paintings and the viewer is able to connect with these characters beyond a romantic or stereotyped context. They have finally become personalised and empowered.

In Let me abo go loose, Albert appropriates a song lyric from Rolf Harris’ Tie me kangaroo down sport. This line originally appeared in the fourth verse. The entire verse reads - Let me abos go loose Bruce, let me abos go loose. They’re no further use Bruce, so let me abos go loose. This verse has since been removed from this iconic Australian song as it was deemed inappropriate.

Other selected artwork acquisitions