‘Seeds and Sovereignty’ brings together works from QAGOMA’s Indigenous Australian Art Collection that celebrate these interconnected relationships between plants, people and Country. The works chosen are thematically responsive to the scholarship of Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe,¹ Zena Cumpston, Bill Gammage and many other researchers whose work successfully challenges accepted histories and pervasive beliefs around the lifestyles of pre-colonial Indigenous people.² This ground-breaking research recognises the sophisticated land management practices referenced in these artworks, while reaffirming the sacred obligations of custodianship that underpin their success.

Emblematic of the efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over vast timelines, Danie Mellor’s Matter Matters echoes the dramatic roots of the ancient grey mangrove species (Avicennia marina). Commonly found in tropical and subtropical intertidal regions, mangrove colonies are essential for ecological balance and coastline protection. In harsh and highly dynamic environments, the plant’s intricate roots create sheltered ecosystems — marine habitats rich in biodiversity.

Sophia Nampitjimpa Sambono (Jingili) is Associate Curator, Indigenous Australian Art.

Endnote

1. Bruce Pascoe, Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?, Magabala Books, Broome, 2014.
2. Bruce Pascoe’s research builds on the work of historian Bill Gammage in re-examining colonial and historical records to reveal truths of the landscape. Barkandji researcher and curator Zena Cumpston (and others) have continued this rewriting of narratives of erasure. Both Pascoe and Cumpston have been central to re-presenting this knowledge in art contexts in exhibitions including ‘Bunha-bunhanga: Aboriginal agriculture in the south-east’, Art Gallery of South Australia, 2019–20; and ‘Emu Sky’, Old Quad, University of Melbourne, 2022.