2020 IB Extended Essays

In Watsons 2016 exhibition the scarifier, a bright topographically-traced painting

titled ‘mt Riddell’ worked to complement the Australian landscape in a discrete and

contemporary manner. As the viewer gazes along the layered lines of rolling hills and mountains, the luminous foil ameliorates the disturbing subject matter. The landscape moves to transform the voices and remnants of past histories into a present continuum, alluding to the generational trauma which continues in the lives physical oppression. The installation comprised motion, sound and lustre which worked to pay homage and give recognition to Indigenous peoples and their histories through the works moving scenery. Although the work marks a tragic past, the gentle resonance which dwells within the topography evokes a presence of the past, creating a vision into the future. As pigments dance in puddles of water and images of nature mould into tokens of human civilisation, Judy Watson’s artwork exposes supressed histories whilst providing hope for the future of Indigenous Australia and the possibility of two cultures finally co-existing together harmoniously. of Indigenous people’ s despite contemporary mores moving beyond a time of

Judy Watson, the scarifier, 2016.