A powerful visual narrative: Tony Albert's ‘Terra Nullius (with Scrooge)’ mural reflects on Australia

31 Jul 2023

Tony Albert’s painting Terra Nullius(with Scrooge) uses an array of Resene paint colours to recreate the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) map of Indigenous Australia, showing Aboriginal groups prior to colonisation. 

The map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. In the centre of the work, Albert positions the Walt Disney character Scrooge McDuck, created in 1947. Based on the character Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Scrooge McDuck is portrayed as an oil and mining tycoon, businessman and industrialist.

Standing on a map of Australia, Scrooge represents the colonial businessperson who has extracted Australia’s resources for economic gain, with no regard for the environment or the rights of the Indigenous people to whom the land belongs.

Tony Albert was born in Townsville, Queensland and is a descendant of the Girramay, Yidinji and Kuku-Yalanji peoples. He works across a range of media, often recycling kitsch, mass-produced objects that feature stereotypical depictions of Indigenous people.

Over the past 10 years Tony has achieved extraordinary visibility and much critical acclaim for his visual art practice. His multidisciplinary artmaking investigates contemporary legacies of colonialism, prompting audiences to contemplate the human condition.

Tony Albert’s Terra Nullius (with Scrooge), participatory work in progress, 2021-ongoing, acrylic on canvas as part of OCCURRENT AFFAIR, NAS Gallery, National Art School, 2023. Image by Samu Carvajal. Colours used in this piece include Resene Sebedee, Resene Travis, Resene Poet, Resene Curious Blue, Resene Half Opal, Resene Happy Hour, Resene Avocado, Resene Pale Prim and Resene Princess.

Read more about OCCURRENT AFFAIR exhibition, Tony Albert’s Terra Nullius (with Scrooge), and other artists' work here. 

Itinerary for OCCURRENT AFFAIR:

Ngununggula | Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, NSW: 26 August – 5 November 2023

Gosford Regional Gallery, NSW: 18 November 2023 – 11 February 2024

USC Gallery, University of the Sunshine Coast, QLD: 23 February – 5 May 2024

Artspace Mackay, QLD: 2 August – 6 October 2024

Lismore Regional Gallery, NSW: Hybrid presentation, dates TBC

Main image: Tony Albert with artwork participants, Terra Nullius (with Scrooge), 2021-ongoing, acrylic on canvas as part of OCCURRENT AFFAIR, NAS Gallery, National Art School, 2023. Work created with Resene paint colours.

Published: 31 Jul 2023