Chris Pease

Like the work of Gordon Bennett (1955-2014), whose practice was an early influence, Pease uses historical imagery as a palimpsest, overlaying his own iconography on painted versions of early visual sources. The conversation between the two creates a kind of jostling between the past and present, which are read against each other, rather than in dialogue. As such, Nyoongar custodianship of and connection to Country is seen alongside the settler desire to “tame” and control the land. This can be witnessed in both the colonial imagery that he appropriates in his paintings, which frame the landscape as if ready for consumption, as well as the building plans that float above the seascape in a work such as Minang Boodjar Bidi, 2023, symbolising the shift to the colonial concept of private ownership of the land. However, in Pease’s “world view”, the outline of this individualistic acquisitive ambition appears faint (or weak) in comparison to the strength of the white line that meanders across the canvas, leading the way back to Country.

The symbol of the target has become something of a signature for Pease, appearing once again in new works such as Minang Boodjar 3 and Target 5 (both 2023), hovering over the landscape as a defiantly ambiguous but constant presence. On the one hand, its concentric circles signify a gathering place or campfire, but it equally holds both art historical associations and real-world gravitas – calling to mind American artist Jasper Johns’ iconic Target series (1955-61), while simultaneously foregrounding the implicit violence of the target’s role as a place to aim your shot. Indeed, in The Whalers 1 (2024), Pease has located the target on the body of the whale as it faces its imminent death, this gentle giant of the sea killed to supply for oil for lamps and whalebone for women’s corsetry. The mamang (whale) is an important wardan barna (sea animal) for the Minang, but its presence in the waters off the south-west coast of Western Australia, and further south, at locations such as King George’s Sound, also attracted whalers, forever altering the Minang way of life.  Kelly Gelattly, catalogue essay, Christopher Pease | Hegemony and Empire, Gallery Smith, Melbourne 1 -17 August 2024