FrogandToad's
Indigenous
Australia
is a unique testament to Aboriginal Art, History,
Society and Culture. The
site is located within the FrogandToad
website, and has been independantly researched and
written entirely by Aboriginal people. The site
contains a large amount of factual information on
Australia's Indigenous culture, and is very often
used as a reference point for student research and
by education institutions worldwide.
The site's main
author is Mayrah Yarraga, who is a contemporary
Indigenous Artist belonging to the Gamilaroi
Language Group of North West New South Wales and
South West Queensland. Mayrah covers a wide range
of studio areas within her art making including;
sculpture, painting, ceramics, performance art and
printmaking. In recent years Mayrah has focused on
Public Art, Sculpture and Installation.
Drawing from her
own life experiences, Mayrahs works reflect on the
role of women in society, family stories and
Australian Indigenous issues.
Mayrah (Spring
Wind) Yarraga (Spirit of Spring) was given her name
by her father. As a child Mayrah lived and
travelled through Central Australia with her
family, this was the start of her spiritual
journey, as a murri (Australian Aboriginal) woman
and artist. After their house was destroyed in the
Darwin cyclone in the Northern Territory of
Australia, the family set up camp in another State,
Southern Queensland, at the small suburb of Goodna.
Later she spent her teenage years growing up and
experiencing life in the Brisbane suburb of Inala.
Mayrah has lived
and taught Gamilaroi culture in her Traditional
Country, but she now chooses to reside on the
Sunshine Coast in Queensland in the small town of
Cooroy, a rural centre of the Noosa Shire. Mayrah
is a founding member of both the Indigenous Coastal
Arts Network (ICAN) and C.A.R. Community Artists
for Reconciliation. She prioritises her work to
include volunteer involvement in Indigenous
community events and Reconciliation events that
promote Indigenous Arts practise and recognition of
the past atrocities committed on her people.
Mayrah is
regularly invited to exhibit Internationally and to
provide lectures and artists talks on Australian
Indigenous issues. Mayrah is also a poet and
writer, who provides insight into Australian
Society from an Indigenous Contemporary
perspective.
Her life
experiences have guided her approach to Art making.
She challenges the viewer to closely examine her
work and there relationships to the past. The
artwork speaks frankly about the historical truths
of Australia's "secret past" and how these events
continue to impact on Indigenous peoples
today.
FrogandToad's
Indigenous Australia has not been edited or
re-written from it's original text. Being written
entirely by Aboriginal People such as Mayrah, the
site has been constructed as medium for free speech
for Aboriginal people, and has not been interfered
with by commercial pressures our outside influence.
In early 2004,
the site was linked to Accom.Com.Au's
online
forums,
which allow site visitors access to open online
discussions of various issues to do with Aboriginal
Art, History, Politics and Culture. The forums are
moderated by prominent Aboriginals such as Artist
Stephen Hogarth from Hogarth Arts in Queensland,
who was recently presented with an Award by
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie for his ongoing
work in the areas of Small Business and
Reconcilliation. Stephen was Highly Commended for
his work in Web site design and small Business,
helping the reconciliation process by sharing
Culture through arts and History.
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