What Does Fiona Foley's Work Mean to Australia?

Fiona Foley (born 1964) is a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from Badtjala, Fraser Island, Queensland.

Foley uses her art to "explore the tensions between sex, race and history and their various constructions". (Wikipedia)  By referring to her own unique life history as an "indigenous woman growing up in regional Queensland, in a community with a living memory of their colonisation by the English", Foley sets the scene for a robust dialogue that has the potential to bring about healthy debate throughout Australia.  

Nothing could be more important to Australia now than an honest hard, long look at the way Australia was colonized.  As we discuss and debate about the recent increase in attempts by 'boat people' to come to Australia, and the way the media has beefed up this 'supposed' invasion, we as a people must look closely at how we justify our stand against them.  Both sides of the debate about these people's right to set foot on our shores has fueled the aggression with hysteria, and with an attempt at systematic disremembering.  Distortion is further twisted by the choice of the 'lens' through which we are prepared to look at the problem.  Australia cannot simply "get rid" of the 'problem' these people represent by shipping them off somewhere else or turning them back. 

What I want to discuss in this article is the concept of Cognitive Dissonance. It is with this intention in mind that I discuss the ingenuity of Foley's work.  I am not discussing the content of the work, I am looking specifically at the methodology. What Foley has done is invent a way of speaking to the Australian population that is balanced, just and fair. 

To keep the discussion simple and contained I have chosen to look at the way she set up the installation project called "Black Opium". 

To provide a backdrop for this discussion I would like you to take a look at the article written by Jo Harrington, called Visiting Auschwitz 20 Years after Writing my Dissertation.  This is an extremely interesting post because she draws our attention to how hard it is for us to look at this information. One of the aspects of the pilgrimage she describes is the way she felt rushed and unable to cope with the influx of information.  She was on a guided tour that operated to schedule. 

I contrast this to the way that Black Opium has been constructed.  Black Opium is a beautiful installation.  One of the surprising things about it is that unless you are told about it, or have read the literature, you do not automatically look up to see it. You could, interestingly enough, walk straight past the installation!  I had done this many times without consciously seeking to find out what it was. I had also noticed the booths that are set out near the installation, but I didn't actually go in and sit down.

Based on that aspect of the installation alone, you could not get away with calling Fiona Foley pushy. Her work is tasteful, balanced well thought out and definitely not 'in your face'. What the artist has done, is to very cleverly place the installation above the head of the audience so that they need to actively work to see it.  This means that the audience must fully participate with the installation if they are to decode the intention of the silver sculpted infinity sign. 

Cognitive dissonance is a term used to describe the way people fight back when they experience feelings of psychological discomfort.  Quite a deal of pain can accompany facing 'truths' that conflict with an already held belief.  Sometimes these beliefs are very precious.  They revolve around an idea that rings out "We are great- and - They are not!"  This is the precious idea behind racism, and the people who hold this kind of belief don't feel they have to defend their stance.

 Because the REALLY believe it. 

Never under estimate the power of cognitive dissonance.  By dealing with the possible effects of her installation, Foley has been able to make real break throughs in the way people view relations between Indigenous and White Australia. Let's hope that this deepened understanding seeps into other areas of Australian politics, so that rather than look back with shame and regret, we curb our exclusionary and repressive behaviours before others are hurt by them.