Little Darling, I Feel That Ice Is Slowly Melting

This has by all accounts been a scandalous, confronting and stressful week in Australian media (and no, I'm not talking about the Budget). Monday night's Four Corners report on the ABC lifted the lid on a stinking, maggot-infested, seedy and downright disgusting attitude that has permeated Australian NRL for decades. Ultimately, the career of Matthew Johns has rapidly unravelled. His wife appeared in a 20 minute segment last night with him which was excruciating to watch - her pain, betrayal, humiliation and rage was palpable. She left the interview to throw up. I don't blame her. The apparently "lovable larrikin" Matthew Johns has his followers and apologisers, of course, and it makes me sick that Australian men and women seek to justify his behaviour. Luckily, there are a lot who don't.

It was a welcome relief to see the winner of the People's Choice for the Archibald Prize awarded recently to Vincent Fantauzzo (2nd year running, no less) for his portrait of Brandon Walsh - Baz Luhrmann's golden find for Australia. Incredibly, Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia at age 6 and recovered after a year in hospital. I love the harsh jag of sunlight across his face, and those intense eyes, that seem to see everything.



First prize went to Guy Maestri for his portrait of an older and more well known figure in Australian indigenous culture, Gurrumul Yunupingu, a singer from Arnhem Land, blind from birth but who now travels the globe singing in his native Yolngu tongue. I'm no artist and certainly not an art critic, but I love the sense of spirituality, quiet calm and intensity of this portrait.



In this new phase of Australian history where our Prime Minister has recognised and apologised to the Stolen Generation, where some of our most accomplished actors, directors, writers and costume artists collaborated on a film that further discusses the Stolen Generation issue (albeit in a rather Vaseline-smudged lens manner), and a film recently released to critical acclaim both here and in Cannes (Samson and Delilah) I think it so pertinent that we have yet more art celebrating the quiet dignity and talent of many in the Australian indigenous community.