Christopher PEASE, Beeliar Boodja Bidi, 2022. Digital colour print on aluminium, 205.2 x 1096 cm. Commissioned for Boola Katitjin 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and Gallerysmith.
Christopher PEASE
Born 1969 Perth, Western Australia
Lives and works Dunsborough, Western Australia
Christopher Pease is a Minang/Wardandi/Bibbulmun man from the south-west of Western Australia, whose visual language is deeply embedded within the western history of figurative oil painting and traditional Indigenous storytelling. His paintings often comprise references to western culture superimposed over scenes of traditional Indigenous ways of living and interacting with nature.
In 2022 Murdoch University commissioned Pease to create a major new artwork for Boola Katitjin to represent and celebrate the Indigenous heritage of this site, particularly the Beeliar Wetlands which is a place of immense archaeological, spiritual and cultural value for Noongar people.
In Beeliar Boodja Bidi, Pease has created a precolonial image of the Beeliar wetlands which depicts the waterways, native flora and fauna, Noongar men, women and children living on Country. The image of the Waagyl stretches across the skyline, highlighting its spiritual and cultural significance to this place. The white lines used to indicate topographical mapping represent the overlay of Western culture upon the traditional Indigenous ways of life.
This artwork serves as a powerful reminder that Murdoch University is a Campus on Country, and these lands have been occupied and cared for by Noongar people for thousands of years. It pays respect to the original custodians of this land and celebrates this rich cultural legacy.