Australian Identity

This image made me think of the youth of our nation + how patriotic we are (basically) from birth.

Queen and country - poses the subject of severing the ties with England in becoming a republic - a current topic of interest.

Surf + Turf - this nation is known for its tough countryside + our beautiful beaches  - opposites that converge.

               

AUSTRALIAN SLANG -

Our current 'language' as a nation, verbal, visual or other, doesn't stem from a single place & its diverse points of origins surrounds us on a daily basis, thus allowing each distinct culture within its borders to add towards the 'language' that is our way of life.

“Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.” History has seen people remember the first part of Donald Horne’s comment, yet disregard the latter, which he considered equally important. He was very direct in criticising 1960s Australia as living in the past and not reaffirming its uniqueness in a modern world. Horne wanted to challenge Australians to promote their own country and face their own responsibilities, instead of accepting the status quo and relying on the ‘she’ll be right’ psyche.

Half a century since, the quote is still freely stated to explain the country’s good fortune. Whether it be our mineral wealth, sporting success, sunny weather, culture or avoiding the GFC, Australia is still regarded as the “lucky country”.

Yet how true do his conclusions apply today? “If we are to remain a prosperous, liberal, humane society, we must be prepared to understand the distinctiveness of our own society.

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This image explores the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.

In recent years, as elections have come and gone, we have witnessed our governments at first refuse, and then say ‘sorry’. However, until those words are truly felt by a largely complacent population, how can we hope
to bridge the divide?

As we look forwards, to an inevitable time where we no longer carry the Queen in our pockets, we must not only recognise the atrocities of those that came before us, but work to ensure the breakdown of lingering prejudice and inequality.

Only then do we stand a chance of defining an indentity we can all share.





The Australian identity is more frequently becoming an iDentity. With our iPhones and our iLives, this great nation of sports fanatics is spending more time online than by the sideline playing or barracking for their team.

It's an ever evolving technological world. The technology is supposed to make our lives more productive, more efficient – simpler. But with every hardware upgrade comes a software upgrade and more consumption. An ever growing landfill of digital plastic bags that rises into a steep learning curve.