Boxcopy - She'll Be Right

She’ll Be Right

Clark Beaumont

Boxcopy

She’ll Be Right, which was exhibited at Boxcopy artist-run initiative from 6 to 20 October 2012, demonstrated Clark Beaumont’s ability to take risks, experiment with new media, as well as undertake collaborative processes. The audacious duo, comprised of Nicole Beaumont and Sarah Clark, formed in 2010 at the Queensland University of Technology whilst completing their Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts (Visual Arts) (Meet Clark Beaumont 2012). Through drawing on the idiosyncratic language evident in iconic Australian films, She’ll Be Right has manipulated the cinematic representation of everyday life. The influence of Australian films, including Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle, reflect a notion of Australian identity that is pertinent to the stereotypes of ‘Aussie battler’ and ‘under-dog’. It may be contended that there are Australian people who would not have an affinity with these particular views of identity; which poses the question, what does it mean to be Australian?

Within Boxcopy’s cosy gallery space resides several television screens affixed across three walls. On one screen, the viewer may notice Clark Beaumont sitting under a tree singing Abba’s Fernando, a nod to Muriel’s own Abba-fuelled delusions. Several of the other screens display the duo re-enacting scenes from The Castle, such as Darryl Kerrigan’s speech at the family’s kitchen table. Collectively, each performative video piece is played on a repetitive cycle, however not entirely in unison. It is apparent that some of the dialogue on a couple of the videos ends while other videos are still running; which video starts and finishes first seems almost interchangeable. It is difficult to discern if there is any particular order to the video sequence as a whole.

It may be evident that the notion of Australian Values is intrinsic to the way in which Australian Identity has been defined in films like Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle. Through the implementation of the stereotypes of ‘Aussie battler’ and ‘under-dog’ evident in these films, Clark Beaumont has made links to Australian Values relating to a belief in mateship, and giving another person a fair go (Ahlawat 2012,  p. 65). It could be argued that this particular view on Australian Values is not inclusive of Indigenous people and the quarter of Australia’s population that is born overseas (Ahlawat 2012, p. 64). Education Minister Brendan Nelson reinforced this by stating:

“… if people don’t want to be Australians and they don’t want to live by Australian values and understand them, well basically they can clear off” (Ahlawat 2012, p. 65).

Nelson’s declaration about Australian Values has attempted to justify the continuous political debate on who has what claims on the country, in addition to how these values shape Australian society (Ahlawat 2012, p. 65). Beginning with British settlement in Australia in 1788, government policies have been established that neither encourage fair treatment towards immigrants and Indigenous people, nor adhere to the spirit of mateship. With this in mind, the concept of the ‘Aussie battler’ and the ‘under-dog’ is challenged. Despite any hardships that the typically working class ‘Aussie battler’ may encounter, they continue to persevere through their commitments. Likewise, ‘under-dog’ also refers to an individual dealing with some sort of disadvantage in their life. The White Australia Policy, which emerged during Federation in 1901, was introduced to preserve:

“…the noble idea of a White Australia – a snow white Australia if you will…let it be pure and spotless” (Ahlawat 2012, p. 59).

If there was a scale that measured each Australian individual’s level of disadvantage, The White Australia Policy automatically crowned immigrants and Indigenous people as the absolute ‘under-dogs’; with the flow on effect of being ‘Aussie battlers’ – despite not being recognised as Australian. The ramifications of this guiding principle has created a Pandora’s box effect on governmental policies, as evidenced by John Howard’s endorsement of a cautious approach towards Asian immigration in 1984, as well as Pauline Hanson’s blatantly racist agendas put forth before the electorate in 1996 (Ahlawat 2012, p. 61 – 62). Keyser Trad, head of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia stated that:

“…when John Howard talks about them (Australian Values), they are little more than clichés…they are encouraging racism through national pride…it’s a recipe for a highly polarised society” (Ahlawat 2012, p. 65).  

The relevance and accuracy of an Australian identity being represented by films like Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle is questionable. Although Australia is dominated by Western values, Australia’s geo-strategic proximity to the Asia-pacific region suggests that an understanding of increasing Asian influences is of far more significance than revisiting out-dated stereotypes. As artists, Clark Beaumont have the power to change culture. Although She’ll Be Right demonstrates the artists’ ability to take risks by experimenting with new media, there is arguably no push for cultural change. Viewers, particularly Fine Art students, may feel inspired to ‘one-up’ Clark Beaumont by creating art with more substance.

References

Ahlawat, D 2012, ‘Reinventing Australian Identity’, International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol. 3, no, 11, pp. 59-66, viewed 21 October 2012, via Griffith University database.

Meet Clark Beaumont 2012, viewed 21 October 2012, <http://safari.org.au/meet-clark-beaumont>.