Robert Andrew: Our Mutable Histories

Overview

Many an hour spent in many a school history lesson has taught us all that history doesn't change. But, what if it does? Sure, the words written in record books years ago still remain the same today, but the past isn't just an account of what happened — it's shaped by our knowledge and understanding of what happened. Accordingly, unearthing new information can always cast everything we thought we knew in a different light.

With his latest exhibition taking the title Our Mutable Histories, it's clear that Perth-born, Brisbane-based Indigenous Australian artist Robert Andrew feels the same way — and from March 3 to July 16, Brisbanites have the chance to discover why. Walking through his free showcase at the Museum of Brisbane is like stepping into a shifting landscape designed to reflect the space where the country's Anglo-European and Australian Indigenous cultures and histories come together.

Don't take the shifting part literally, of course. Nothing moves here other than your perception. Using materials such as natural ochres, oxides and chalks in conjunction with contemporary technologies, Andrew aims to unearth the evolving identities that lurk beneath, with his pieces acting as a response to his own once-hidden family heritage.