The Alternative Archive, a short film to be launched Tuesday evening, features artists Wajarri-Badimaya-Maori man Mark Smith and Badimaya-Wajarri woman Dr Charmaine Green promoting the visual art exhibition of the same title, which includes the mother and son's work Unravelling Archives 1 and is currently touring Western Australia with ART ON THE MOVE.
The video is told from the perspective of Mr Smith, who interrogates Western modes of archival knowledge and highlights the importance of stories and information held by families and communities, and their transfer to subsequent generations.
This is a central focus of the broader exhibition where regional artists, including Geraldton-based Mr Smith and Dr Green, responded to the theme of "alternative archives".
In the video Mr Smith discusses the power of a family's collective memory.
"You know, your uncle, aunty, pop or nana, they're archives themselves. A lot of the stories I like to tell are stories that are handed on to me from my mum. She's a library of knowledge," he says.
From Mr Smith's perspective, collaborating on an artwork with his mother provides an opportunity to share stories.
"Along the way you're learning about why things were done, how things were done. The artwork is sort of just a fun little picture you get at the end."
Mr Smith and Dr Green's work Unravelling Archives 1 "challenges the myths" around architect and priest Monsignor John Hawes, and seeks to acknowledge the Aboriginal people who helped build his churches dotted through the Mid-West region of Western Australia, including St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Geraldton, the imposing church complex built over 22 years and finally completed in 1938.
"What I do know is Monsigner Hawes is the architect of all those churches, but we need to give some credit to the Aboriginal and the non-Aboriginal, local people, that have helped," Dr Green told ABC Indigenous.
"Our archives aren't just in libraries, aren't just in churches, aren't just in government records and books. Our (Yamaji) archive is the country, the landscape, the stories, the songs, the sites of significance."
The Alternative Archive exhibition's current touring location, which opened January 27 and will run to March 12, is the Goldfields Art Centre.
The video, produced by ART ON THE MOVE, was directed and edited by Melle Branson and funded through the Regional Exhibition Touring Boost managed by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
ART ON THE MOVE is a Western Australian organisation dedicated to touring contemporary visual art exhibitions throughout the regions, interstate and beyond.
The Regional Exhibition Touring Boost program is an $8 million Western Australian government election commitment that aims to widen the sharing of Western Australian culture within the state.
