This installation follows one of Tony Albert’s main currents of investigation — the picturing of Aboriginal people and cultural practices on commercial objects. Over two decades, Albert has reclaimed and repurposed a large group of these ‘collectibles’, including vintage ashtrays, which he refers to as ‘Aboriginalia’.

Albert’s work questions the justification of these representations as a kind of homage, and the notion that the items are ‘of their time’ and are therefore acceptable. The artist considers these notions a form of ‘whitewashing’, which he subverts by bringing a multitude of the kitsch homewares together to encourage viewers to consider their loaded racial histories.