Third Drawer Down continues its tradition of producing covetable artist tea towels with this stunning work by Tony Albert. Created to be used functionally in your kitchen or framed and hung to adorn any wall.

Renowned for his distinctly contemporary imagery, engaging with political, historical and cultural Aboriginal and Australian History, Tony Albert has long been fascinated by the tension between the visibility and invisibility of Aboriginal people in media, literature and the visual world. Put simply by Albert, "what is Seen and Unseen."

In the body of work, Conversations With Margaret Preston, he looks at the ideas and philosophies behind Preston's push to create a National Australian visual identity, her artistic influence on the branding of a nation, and the resultant spawning and saturation of an industry of mass-market kitsch objects depicting Aboriginal people and their culture naively and stereotypically, termed by Albert as "Aboriginalia".

Albert turns the tables on history, cheekily yet assertively reclaiming designs and motifs from Preston's Aboriginal woodblock prints to honour the subjects and voices of the work's original creators.

About the Artist

Over the past 10 years Australian artist Tony Albert has achieved extraordinary visibility and much critical acclaim for his visual art practice, which combines text, video, drawing, painting and three-dimensional objects.

Examining the legacy of racial and cultural misrepresentation, particularly of Australia’s Aboriginal people, Albert has developed a universal language that seeks to rewrite historical mistruths and injustice.

Albert’s work can be seen in major national and international museums and private collections.

Specifications 

- 100% Linen
- Gift Packaged
- 50cm x 70cm / 19.7" x 27.5”

Artwork

Conversations With Preston: Australian Flowers In Jug, 2021 © Tony Albert