“We have a responsibility to care for our brothers and sisters from across the water. We must bring the water and the fire, the love and the music to heal the country and move in solidarity.”
Uncle Kevin Buzzacott, Arabunna Aboriginal Elder
In 2013 three small boats went on an epic journey to reconnect the lands and struggles of Australian and West Papuan Indigenous peoples.
The voyage of the Freedom Flotilla to West Papua was an unprecedented event of creative resistance to the Indonesian occupation of West Papua. The initiative of Indigenous Elders of Australia and West Papua built global solidarity and highlighted the abuses of human rights and land rights carried out under the occupation of their lands on an international stage.
Freedom Flotilla’s Desert to the Sea exhibition at Tortuga Studios on Thursday 22 January, 2015, is brimming with a wealth of photos, films and fine art created during this land and sea convoy to West Papua. It promises to be a night that represents and celebrates the Indigenous peoples of both Australia and West Papua, and highlights the ongoing creative resistance against occupation.
Photos by
Jeevi Ka, Kim Westmorland, Tully Starr, Margret Freeradical Gilchrist, Izzy Brown, Ðavid Wainggai, Jessie Boylan
Traditional art by Lober Eto L Wainggai
Films by Izzy Brown and Jeevi Ka
Spoken Word Performance by Izzy Brown (Combat Wombat)
