A Footscray artist is exploring Aboriginal sovereignty, de-colonisation and identity in a new exhibition.
Paola Balla’s Born into Sovereignty, Live in Sovereignty, a collection of some of her most striking work, is on show at VU MetroWest.
The award-winning visual artist is currently an artist in residence at Victoria University for Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit.
“Part of the residency is looking at my body of work in preparation to apply for a PhD,” Balla said. “It’s almost a retrospective. I’ve been practising for almost 15 years now and these works are from the last eight years.”
The Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara woman has been researching the effects of colonisation and trauma, particularly on Aboriginal women.
Her artworks explore these issues in terms of both shared and personal history.
“Some of them are very personal and some talk about the ways in which colonisation has affected all of us in things such as loss of language,” she said.
“It impacts in an ongoing way. I’m fighting for a de-colonising space, creating a space free of the racism we face in everyday life.”
Balla was the winner of the 2014 Award for Three Dimensional Works at the Victorian Indigenous Art Awards. She has been shortlisted for two works for this year’s 10th annual awards.
Winners, to be announced on August 8, will be on show at the Art Gallery of Ballarat from August 9.
