Andrea Witcomb – The Conversation

This wooden dish from Broome, pre-1892, was made by Yawuru people, collected by police and later presented by the Commissioner of Police, Colonel Phillips, to the WA Museum. Courtesy of the WA museum

November 26, 2020

Friday essay: 5 museum objects that tell a story of colonialism and its legacy

Alistair Paterson, The University of Western Australia; Andrea Witcomb, Deakin University; Gaye Sculthorpe, The British Museum; Shino Konishi, The University of Western Australia, and Tiffany Shellam, Deakin University

A spear-thrower, a shell, a bowl, a vase, a bucket. Five very different items tell us much about the history of collecting, the role of Indigenous experts and the shadow of colonial violence.

Detail from Father of the Innocents, from the series, Mandela A Life’s Journey, by John Meyer. Melbourne Museum

September 25, 2018

Mandela My Life is a welcome tribute to a hero, but avoids difficult questions

Andrea Witcomb, Deakin University

The desire to eulogise, as often appears to be the case in this exhibition, does not allow space for questions that might allow for a fuller explication of the nature of Mandela’s legacy and its relevance beyond South Africa.

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