In the heart of Paris at the Galerie Arts D’Australie – Stéphane Jacob, contemporary Gadigal artist Kate Constantine (Konstantina) opened her first solo exhibition in Europe, Garrigarrang Badu in October 2023. The exhibition was a culmination and celebration of years of research, self-discovery, cultural exploration, and contemporary expression. With support from a Create NSW Small Project Grant, Kate was able to travel to Paris to share her love for Gadigal Ngura (Gadigal country) through her art and storytelling with hundreds of visitors.
Create NSW spoke with Kate about her journey and exhibition experience, her practice, new book and her next project.
Congratulations on your first solo show in Paris. Tell us about the experience and how this opportunity came about.
It was an incredible experience. The welcome and support I received, especially from curator Stéphane Jacob-Langevin at the Galerie Arts D’Australie, was beyond my wildest expectations.
I first met Stéphane during my artist residency at the Sidney Nolan Trust in Wales. He took a keen interest in my work, and we developed a beautiful relationship. He began taking my work to show art collectors, sparking potential for a show at his gallery, Arts D’Australia in Paris. So, he invited me to develop a show and I spent the next year painting a large amount of work.
As it was my first solo show in Europe, I chose to exhibit works that represented my full body of work – a ‘best of’ collection you could say. I created 52 works spanning the different series I’ve created. The show was titled Garrigarrang Badu (meaning ‘sea country’), as this best described the landscape, animals, cultural heritage and spirit of Country that inspires everything I paint and create.
“Even with the language barrier, I was able to share my art, heritage and culture in a really intimate way.”
My practice brings a very modern contemporary lens to the traditional art practice of dot painting using ochre, natural pigments and sticks. This exhibition allowed me to represent my practice in a holistic way and, being able to be there in person, meant I could speak to the knowledge, stories and my own meditation on culture and identity.
The exhibition took own a life of its own. I thought my public program would be limited to the opening night and a handful of artist talks. Instead, I discovered Stéphane had sent personal invitations to his contacts and had arranged daily tours which were attended by at least 50 people every day, all eager to hear more about the work or learn about the traditional art techniques and materials I used. Even with the language barrier, I was able to share my art, heritage and culture in a really intimate way.
Your work draws on extensive research. Tell us about where this began and what cultural knowledge and history you’ve discovered.
I am so fortunate to have my Elders pass knowledge to me and to work with amazing researchers and academics working on Gadigal Country, at University of Sydney and the State Library of NSW.
I also made the most incredible discoveries, in the most unlikely of places – the library of a manor house situated in the idyllic countryside of Wales. It was during my artist-in-residence – supported by the Sir Sidney Nolan Trust in the UK – at the former home of Sir Nolan, I rediscovered the time-honoured Gadigal weaving technique documented in one of the ancient first edition books on colonial history.
Sidney Nolan amassed a huge collection with somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 rare books. There is an impressive collection on colonial history, as well as original court documents and papers written by the British from the early colonial times. Much of it included observations and documentation about Aboriginal people, my people. Sir Sidney Nolan’s precious collection was hidden away from the broad public view and rarely viewed by anyone, much less a Gadigal woman – so I was awestruck at the treasure trove of documentation waiting to be discovered.
It was there, in a first edition published in 1836, I saw a small drawing of a woven dilly bag, used as an expandable fishing bag. The bag used a unique weaving technique practiced by the Gadigal people. This was an ingenious Gadigal innovation I had never seen before.
“It was one of many incredible ‘Eureka!’ moments which ignited a burning passion for research to uncover and reclaim lost remnants of the Gadigal language, culture and histories, as well as correcting mistruths and returning misplaced stories to their rightful place.”
So, for the remainder of the residency I spent long hours stretching into the early hours of the morning devouring the dusty books for clues and forgotten stories.
I am always scouring archives, libraries, personal collections and museums in search of hidden truths.
I travelled to the British Museum and met with UK researchers who helped me piece together more clues. I was shown a lithograph titled “New. Castle.” which depicted a Corroboree featuring what I recognised as Gadigal men with distinct ochre patterning, performing an emu dance – I knew instantly this must have been mislabeled, as I haven’t ever seen evidence of our people travelling as far north as Newcastle for Corroboree. The amazing man in charge of these items immediately started digging into the provenance of this visual document and it’s something we will continue to research as part of a new project I am undertaking with the collection.
It’s really remarkable that Gadigal culture has endured and survived in spite of colonial mistruths and misconceptions!
The timing of the exhibition’s opening added another layer of significance for you, right?
The exhibition had been scheduled months earlier, so it was a complete coincidence that the opening night was held the same night that the National Referendum on the Voice to Parliament was happening in Australia.
“The support I felt was completely overwhelming…like everyone turned up that night to encourage me to use my voice in that moment.”
It was such an emotional day. When I called my children from Paris, the heartbreak we felt was overwhelming. I had tears streaming down my face. Stéphane spurred me to be courageous and speak at the opening, despite how I felt.
It was such a special night and the support I felt was completely overwhelming. Hundreds of people came, we had crowds spilling onto the street. It felt like everyone turned up that night to encourage me to use my voice in that moment.
You have recently launched a book – Gadigal Ngura. Congratulations on this fantastic achievement. What inspired you to publish a book?
It began as a way of sharing my art and my love for Country. However, in all my research, in all the libraries and bookstores, I never found a single book about Gadigal culture or Country, one written by a Gadigal author.
I wanted to celebrate the resilience and richness of Gadigal culture, language and other findings from my research. It was a massive undertaking and includes my artwork, photography, prose and essays. I collaborated with Gadigal Elders, the team at the State Library of NSW and Sydney University academics.
Tracing my Gadigal ancestral roots and rediscovering language and my cultural identity helps guide my art practice, but I can also see it helps so many other people piece together their own connection to Country and culture too.
I really hope the book is the first of many to be written by Aboriginal people about their connection to Country, to reclaim and share their cultural identity in a way that feels right to them.
What’s next for you?
I’m heading to the UK to launch my book in May and I’ll be heading back to Paris for another solo show in October. I have a solo exhibition in Sydney at Cooee Art Leven titled Wumera Nangamay opening 13 June.
About Konstantina
Kate Constantine’s practice re-imagines traditional dot painting through a modern lens, telling stories of culture, history, identity, connecting to Country. These stories are interwoven with a modern narrative, depicting the struggles, inspiration, and daily challenges she feels as a mum, a storyteller, a creative, a woman and above all a connected Aboriginal person to the land – that speaks to a broader human experience of identity.
A descendant of the Gadigal people, she is a passionate researcher and storyteller. Her dedicated pursuit of truth-telling and extensive research continues to uncover and reclaim lost remnants of her Gadigal language, culture and histories, correcting mistruths and returning misplaced stories. Learn more
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