SCULPTURE: 'INTERPRETATION OF A NOONGAR MESSAGE STICK', SHANE PICKETT

In 1996 local Noongar artist Shane Pickett was commissioned by the Subiaco Museum to produce a number of works as part of its commitment to Reconciliation, a stand consistent with the principles of the New Museology.

This work, ‘Symbolic Interpretation of a Noongar Message Stick’, takes the form of a painted section of tree branch which was originally displayed on a painted drum, also designed by Pickett. Around the drum were placed pieces of archival paper, upon which visitors were invited to write their thoughts about colonisation and reconciliation. Many of these pages were accessioned into the museum collection, as a permanent record of museum visitor’s responses to the artwork, and to issues surrounding reconciliation more generally.

‘Symbolic Interpretation of a Noongar Message Stick’ was first displayed in the ‘Noongar Room’ at the Subiaco Museum, a gallery space which focused on Aboriginal history in Subiaco. This room was opened in July 1996 as part of the museum’s ongoing commitment to the reconciliation movement. The Museum had not previously acknowledged a History of Colonisation and dispossession, and doing so caused considerable disquiet, e.g. see comments in the Visitors' Book, August-September 1996 (See also Jennifer Garton-Smith (now Harris), ‘Unlocking Museums, proceedings of the Darwin National Conference of Museums Australia’, 1997). This work remained on display in the museum until 2021 when it was removed from display due to conservation concerns.