Lynne Allen has Brisbane by Hook, Line and Sinker

Tamarind trained Master Printmaker and Head of the School of Visual Arts at Boston University, Lynne Allen’s exhibition Hook, Line and Sinker at POP Gallery, forms part of her residency at Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art in Brisbane, Australia.

Much of the artwork included in the exhibition draws on Allen’s Native American Indian past, which can be traced back through the women of her family (1). It is her great grandmother Josephine Waggoner (who appears in many works in the exhibition) with whom Allen feels a particular connection to after inheriting many artifacts and writings in 2002 which belonged to Josephine. Allen’s discovery of her rich history and sense of injustice that as a white woman, she was proof of the success of the assimilation of the Native American into European society, steered her art practice to the task of reclaiming her heritage and bringing to light the atrocities in the history of American colonization (2).

Installation shot of Spurs, Moccasins, Size 9D and Rider Photogravure
Pop Gallery, 2011

Both of these endeavors are particularly evident in Allen’s 4 photogravures on the back wall of the gallery, depicting riding spurs, beaded moccasins, antique wooden shoe forms and a children’s Indian figurine. Each is printed individually in large scale monochromatic colours using the photogravure technique, chosen for the fact that it was invented during the period of American colonization (1). Rider in particular, is a visual testimony to the power imbalance between European settlers and Native Americans with a small children's Indian figurine perched atop a large 'western' shoe form. Thus demonstrating the ease with which the native population was overpowered. Next to this print, Moccasins and Size 9D can be seen to represent Allen’s own duel heritage as one can imagine questions of her identity caught in the empty space between her mothers Native Indian moccasins and her fathers European shoe forms. Further evidence of Allen attempting to connect with her culture can be found in My Winter Count depicting a timeline of shoes connecting Allen to her great grandmother and to her heritage as both women and their stories are depicted above the shoes.

My Winter Count, Screenprint, lithograph & chine Colle. 2001.
from http://lynneallen.com/prints.html

Shoes are a prominent feature in Hook, Line and Sinker which brings to mind the old proverb ‘do not judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes’. This appears to be what Allen is attempting to experience for herself as well as display to viewers in works such as Sitting Bull Moccasins. By recreating an old tradition with paper etched with imagery of native culture instead of with leather and beads, Allen appears to be attempting to find new ways to teach viewers about a forgotten (and sometimes denied) past.

Sitting Bull Moccasins
Etching on handmade paper, handwork, linen thread, tea bags
2003  from http://lynneallen.com/gallery.html

This endeavour is not only relevant to Native American history but to the history of any inhuman mistreatment. Allen's work is evidence of art's ability to stand against injustice and bring greater understanding. Such an exhibition is ironically suited for display in Australia considering our similar past of European settlement and Indigenous treatment.   

Hook Line and Sinker is not only a comprehensive display of Allen’s mastery of printmaking but an evolving story to claim her heritage, correct falsehoods and declare truths (2).

By Jessica Row

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(1)  From Nature Morte exhibition catalogue by Lynne Allen, published 2009
(2) From conversations with the artist.
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Lynne Allen’s Exhibition Hook, Line and Sinker is on display at POP Gallery, 12 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia from 14^th September to 1^st October 2011.
www.lynneallen.com
www.popgallery.com.au