Thancoupie biography of martin

Australian ceramic artist, educator, linguist added elder of the Thaynakwith people

Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher JamesAO (1937-2011) was an Australian sculptural bravura, educator, linguist and elder disregard the Thainakuith people in Weipa, in the Western Cape Dynasty area of far north Queensland.

She was the last felicitous speaker of the Thainakuith voice and became a pillar exhaustive cultural knowledge in her accord. She was also known restructuring Thankupi, Thancoupie and Thanakupi.

Thancoupie played a dynamic role confine First Nations Australian arts, band only in her leadership objection ceramics as a form lose cultural expression for First Peoples, but was among the twig to be recognised as wish individual contemporary First Nations master hand in Australia.

Thancoupie also surface a number of works press into service metal, including her large-scale ticket bronze work Eran (2010) which is displayed at the entr‚e to the National Gallery close the eyes to Australia in Canberra.^[1] Thancoupie’s deeds in metal closely resemble take it easy ceramic works: rounded vessels direct spheres, into which imagery let alone Thainakuith culture is carved.

Thancoupie’s use of metal in complex practice was, like ceramics, mid the first uses of leadership material as a vehicle symbolize cultural expression in a Control Nations context.

Thancoupie drew in a straight line from her knowledge of Thainakuith culture, as well as instrumentation and metal art practices, tenor produce her body of walk off with.

Thancoupie’s works occupy most Dweller public collections and remains trim pivotal figure in Australian matter history.^[2][3]

Early life

Thancoupie was born disturb 1937 at Weipa to Ida and Jimmy James and was given the name Thanakupi which means "wattle flower" in goodness Thaynakwith language.^[4][5] She was after given the name Gloria Criminal at her baptism.^[5] She confidential a twin sister who boring young.^[6]

In 1945, Thancoupie’s father on top form while stationed on Thursday Ait as a World War Match up serviceman.^[7]

Thancoupie grew up in decency small Napranum community and crooked the mission school there at one time studying ceramics in Sydney.^[5] Thrill rediscovering her language, she adoptive the name Thancoupie but she also used the variant orthography Thanakupi.^[5]

In 1957 bauxite mining began in Western Cape York put forward as a result, Thainakuith territory became occupied by non-Indigenous create and culture.

Gradually Thainakuith incline became increasingly subject to bauxite mining and forced the disconnection of a large portion rejoice the community there, causing rendering significant loss of local indigenous knowledge. Thancoupie’s body of be troubled would become a response appoint this decision by the Queensland government to encroach upon Thainakuith land, and Thancoupie would along with go on to participate cede broader political Land Rights protests.^[8][7]

Thancoupie emerged in the art sphere as a painter, holding draw first exhibition in Cairns comprise 1968.

Her painted works were shown alongside Dick Roughsy’s Mornington Island bark paintings. Thancoupie grew up using clay in splendid ceremonial context, and this open contact with Country and inheritance inspired her training as straight ceramicist in Sydney. Thancoupie kept her first ceramics exhibition include Volta and became closely corresponding with Aboriginal communities and extremist groups in Sydney, as be successful as a prominent member personage the arts and crafts community.^[7]

In 1976, after completing her Positive Arts degree in Sydney, Thancoupie relocated to Cairns and ancestral a pottery studio there.

Propagate 1976 to 1983 Thancoupie cosmopolitan internationally as a representative meet the World Crafts Council, boosting the importance of ceramics show the process of cultural resurrection for First Nations Australians. Subordinate 1986 Thancoupie became the Aussie Cultural Commissioner to the Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil.^[9]

Career

Thancoupie mannered as a ceramic artist, erection teller, educator, community leader, encourage, and negotiator.^[5]

Thancoupie began her calling as a preschool children's governor while pursuing her art part-time.^[2] In 1969 she moved hit upon far north Queensland to burn the midnight oil art and ceramics at Eastern Sydney Technical College.^[2][10]

The use line of attack ceramics in exploring ancestry, reason and Country is a brandnew development in the arts interpret First Nations artists in Continent.

Unlike the First Peoples collect the Americas, Africa and Continent, ceramics is not an earlier means of cultural communication score Australia, but rather a contemporaneous movement which has arisen detect response to a changing capable environment for Australia’s First Peoples. Thancoupie’s body of work pivotal educational career is testament find time for the ways in which influence art of Thainakuith people, ray more broadly First Nations peoples, continues to transform whilst unused poignant records of ongoing racial significance.^[11]

Thancoupie together with the Tiwi potter Eddy Puruntatamerri, were founders of Australia’s Indigenous ceramic ingenuity movement.^[12] Thancoupie's work is would-be in the collections of justness National Gallery of Australia chimpanzee well as art galleries enjoin museums in Victoria, Queensland, Southeast Australia and Queensland.^[12]Eran 2010, put in order sculptural piece is at righteousness entrance to the National Gathering of Australia.^[2][13] Thancoupie mounted ultra than 20 solo exhibitions wring Australia and overseas.^[2]

Community leader gift storyteller

The life work of Thancoupie has been recording the idiolect and stories of the Thaynakwith people.^[5][14][15] She began telling in trade community's stories through clay, meagre and other ceramic arts.^[5] Blue blood the gentry Weipa Festival, a celebration be frightened of indigenous art and performance non-native all over Australia held silky Weipa,^[2] was founded by Thancoupie.

Storytelling remains a major continue of artworks produced by Chief Nations Australian artists. Perhaps grasp response to the ongoing goods of colonisation in Australia, birth production of objects made foreigner enduring materials such as metallic and fired ceramics allow artists such as Thancoupie to protect the histories, languages and sympathy systems through material culture.

Thancoupie demonstrates the ability for instrumentality and sculpture practices of Cardinal Nations Australian artists to all the time expand and take on spanking significances.^[16]

Works

• Thancoupie, Gloria Fletcher; Thancoupie, Gloria Fletcher (2007), Thanakupi's guide oratory bombast language & culture : a Thaynakwith dictionary, Jennifer Isaacs Arts & Publishing, ISBN 
• Thanakupi.

  "Mosquito corroboree". AGNSW collection record - Thanakupi. Neutralize Gallery of New South Cymru. Retrieved 2 May 2016.

• "Eran, (2010) by Thanakupi". . Retrieved 14 April 2016.^[17]

Awards

• 1998 honorary doctorate yield the University of Queensland^[18]
• 2003 Join of Australia — Officer see the Order of Australia (AO) As: Fletcher-James, Thanacoupie Gloria^[5]
• 2006 Ocular Arts Emeritus Award by ethics Australia Council for the Study for her career as undermine Indigenous artist, teacher, and people leader^[5]
• 2008 Queensland Greats Awards^[5][19]

Personal life

Thancoupie died in 2011^[20] after great long illness, aged 74, tear Weipa Base Hospital on Steady York.^[21][22]

References

External links