Exhibitions

Biography

My name is Teresa Green. I live on Flinders Island where I grew up. I was born to Cyril and Shirley Green, the oldest daughter of my parents. My mother and father’s family structures are immense, and hence I have 23 direct familial Aunties and Uncles, whose families I feel very privileged and proud to be part of.

I began my journey as a traditional Aboriginal shell necklace maker approximately 11 years ago in the program, luna tunapri (women’s knowledge), initiated by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, in order to prevent the loss of this sacred and ancient Aboriginal cultural women’s arts.

During that time, several younger women were able to interact with our primary Honorable Elder, Auntie Dulcie Greeno (deceased), who was supported by other Elders in a significant teaching program.

Since that time, I have been consistently learning about the habits and breeding places of the maireener shells, as well as other varieties of shells used now in traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklace making.

My aim is to ensure the survival of the maireener shell beds, and to develop my own designs by experimentation in using the varied and amazing resources from the sacred seawaters surrounding my island home; as well as within the waters which surround our island state – the ancient sacred land and waters of our Ancestors.

In the last three years, my Auntie maikutena Vicki-Laine Green has been supporting me in my journey as I grow confidence in various aspects of traditional luna tunapri such as basket weaving, bull-kelp water artistry and art and, specifically, maireener.

My intention, into the future, is to become a knowledgeable, experienced, and confident shell necklace maker and traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal female artist.

It has been a privilege to be chosen as an artist within my familial artists group, who are also on their journey of learning and expanding their crafts in any possible way by incorporating other mediums with traditional processes and resources.

I have, to date, been privileged to exhibit in the CHOSEN exhibition and now, in taypani milaythina-tu.

My future aims are to increase my Cultural Knowledge so that, when the time is right, I too can teach my younger family.

Artist statement

Reviving Culture into the Future, 2022

In this section of our exhibit we focus on our continued Cultural strength which has survived through war, death, loss of Country, incarceration within a Reserve, and forced religion; followed by the closing of the Reserve and dispersal throughout the State of Tasmania including Flinders Island, and Victoria.

Despite the inhumane treatment of the inmates in the Cape Barren Island Reserve and then the transportation to other places –Tasmanian mainland and Flinders Island – the ex-inmates were expected to settle and act like good little white people and attend church, whilst being discriminated against in relation to accommodation, housing, schooling, employment, imprisonment, etc.

Despite the laws and policies supporting ill-treatment and racism toward our people we survived, developed, and our numbers grew.  Our men found work, our women worked at anything they could find, and our children went to school and received an education. Life began to be slightly tolerable.

Our men and women began to control their lives, making decisions to ensure that the existence of their children began to improve to the point that families, individuals and communities commenced buying property, finishing school, being successful at university, being employed in jobs where they could develop processes and positions of power in relation to Aboriginal policies, etc.

Most importantly, several Aboriginal organisations were developed. Finally Aboriginal people could receive services from their own People or those who were supportive of Aboriginal advancement in legal, political, social, and medical services being managed and serviced by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people

At this stage, many of our people began strongly reconnecting with their ancient crafts, arts, artefacts and Ceremony which were essential to their identity and also for social and economic growth within families and communities.

In this exhibition there are many palawa/pakana artefacts which are ‘on loan’ from multiple institutions - including the British Museum, that continues to claim our cultural material is under the ownership of the British Government. In current times, we focus on retrieving our Ancestors’ remains, and our cultural and economic artefacts from international and national museums and private collections.

It is time the skeletal remains and cultural objects of our Old People were released from those cold Museums and returned to their Sacred Country under the care of the current and future palawa/pakana People of Tasmania.

Strong Black Womin – Forever Culture, 2022

Despite the incredibly inhumane actions towards and treatment of the palawa/pakana – the First Nation Peoples of lutruwita (Tasmania), our Mob have survived generation after generation, and continue to grow stronger as time goes on.

The story we grew up with was that we didn’t exist – that we and families no longer existed.  Of course, that also encompassed the fallacy that there were no longer any continuing histories of our Cultural activities.

The exhibit we present today clearly demonstrates that we are a continuation of our Ancestors – 30,000+ years, including our ancient history, stories, families and Culture.

The stories presented for you represent the survival of an ancient People. Stories passed on, dance continued around camp-fires, tools to gather food and protect ourselves and family, changes and evolution of Ceremony, Dance and Story, ways of living whilst protecting our Country, evolution in ways of living to survive within an alien people from Britain.

We have struggled to be recognised and acknowledged as the continuing First Nation Peoples of this Ancient and Sacred Country, now known as Tasmania. We continue our Cultural activities, the foods our Old People ate, our Sacred historic Yarns from Old Times, etc, without ever retreating from our Sacredness as the First People of this ancient land.

Our exhibition clearly and strongly demonstrates that we have survived and remain strong in family, Culture, story – these aspects make us the strong People we are today.

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