Wire report
‘I can use it, I can abuse it’: Tony Albert spent decades collecting racist ‘Aboriginalia’. Now he wants to turn yours into art
Not a Souvenir at the MCA highlights the commodification and misrepresentation of First Nations people – and invites the public to reckon with their complicity When Tony Albert was around six years old, he bought a plate with an illustration of an Aboriginal boy’s face on it from his local op shop. It was mid-1980s suburban Brisbane and although he had a large family with connections to the Girramay, Yidinji and Kuku-Yalanji peoples of north Queensland, seeing Aboriginal people or culture on TV was rare – so the plate “felt very special”, the 45-year-old artist recalls. Over the years he collected more of these kinds of objects – cups, tea towels, trays, playing cards and figurines, all ostensibly depicting Aboriginal people and designs, but created by non-Indigenous people, often caricatured, exoticised or kitsch. Continue reading...
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Not a Souvenir at the MCA highlights the commodification and misrepresentation of First Nations people – and invites the public to reckon with their complicity When Tony Albert was around six years old, he bought a plate with an illustration of an Aboriginal boy’s face on it from his local op shop. It was mid-1980s suburban Brisbane and although he had a large family with connections to the Girramay, Yidinji and Kuku-Yalanji peoples of north Queensland, seeing Aboriginal people or culture on TV was rare – so the plate “felt very special”, the 45-year-old artist recalls. Over the years he collected more of these kinds of objects – cups, tea towels, trays, playing cards and figurines, all ostensibly depicting Aboriginal people and designs, but created by non-Indigenous people, often caricatured, exoticised or kitsch. Continue reading...
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s linked item, ‘I can use it, I can abuse it’: Tony Albert spent decades collecting racist ‘Aboriginalia’. Now he wants to turn yours into art, Not a Souvenir at the MCA highlights the commodification and misrepresentation of First Nations people – and invites the public to reckon with their complicity When Tony Albert was around six years old, he bought a plate with an illustration of an Aboriginal boy’s face on it from his local op shop. It was mid-1980s suburban Brisbane and although he had a large family with connections to the Girramay, Yidinji and Kuku-Yalanji peoples of north Queensland, seeing Aboriginal people or culture on TV was rare – so the plate “felt very special”, the 45-year-old artist recalls. Over the years he collected more of these kinds of objects – cups, tea towels, trays, playing cards and figurines, all ostensibly depicting Aboriginal people and designs, but created by non-Indigenous people, often caricatured, exoticised or kitsch. Continue reading…
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked item is dated 2026-05-19T15:00:08+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: ‘I can use it, I can abuse it’: Tony Albert spent decades collecting racist ‘Aboriginalia’. Now he wants to turn yours into art via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- ‘I can use it, I can abuse it’: Tony Albert spent decades collecting racist ‘Aboriginalia’. Now he wants to turn yours into artThe Guardian - 2026-05-19T15:00:08+00:00
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