Megan Cope’smoving image work The Blaktism, directed and produced by Suzanne Howard, casts a satirical gaze upon the concept of authenticating one’s indigeneity. The work was made following and in response to the artist embarking on the process of obtaining a ‘Certificate of Aboriginality’ to bureaucratically prove and register her cultural heritage.

The absurdity of this process and its targeted racial categorisation is brought into focus within The Blaktism, in which Megan Cope has her cultural heritage officially conferred by the state. The film renders this process as a quasi-religious and highly ceremonious ritual that situates the authority to control identity politics firmly within the grip of Anglo-Australian power structures.

Exhibition Details
ACP Gallery, 20 June – 16 August 2015

About the Artist
Megan Cope, a descendent of the Quandamooka People, was born in Brisbane and lives and works in Melbourne. Her work has been presented in exhibitions in Australia and internationally, including Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Gold Coast City Art Gallery; MONA FOMA, Hobart; City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand; Para/Site Art Space, Hong Kong; Care of, Milan; the Australian Embassy, Washington DC; and Next Wave Festival, 2014. Cope is also a member of the art collective proppaNOW.

The artist is represented by dianne tanzer + nicola stein, This Is No Fantasy, Melbourne.

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