White Gums 

Editor: We're looking at "White Gums" by Hans Heysen, and it seems to be either an oil or watercolor painting of an impressionistic landscape, filled with trees, sheep and what looks like a muted, hazy sky. It feels very distinctly Australian. What's your read on this piece? Curator: It absolutely speaks to a particular moment in Australian art history. Heysen was incredibly popular, especially in the early 20th century. These depictions of the Australian landscape were tied to a developing sense of national identity. What do you notice about his rendering of the trees themselves? Editor: Well, they're definitely the focal point, their white bark standing out against the ochre and browns of the landscape. They seem monumental, almost like they're guarding something. Curator: Precisely. Think about the socio-political climate at the time. Australia was forging its own path, defining itself apart from its colonial past. Heysen’s romanticized landscapes offered a visual language for that burgeoning national pride. Do you see how this romantic lens affects our understanding of the land and its history? Editor: I do. It almost creates this idealized vision, potentially overlooking the complexities and challenges faced by those who actually lived and worked on that land, particularly Aboriginal communities. It also, in the absence of signs of modern settlement, posits a sort of untamed state that occludes the reality of land use by sheep farmers in the early 20th century. Curator: Exactly! So, it’s not just a pretty picture. It's actively participating in the construction of a national narrative and justifying the project of colonisation itself. It's critical to understand these contexts to engage fully with such landscape painting. Editor: This is fascinating. I never considered how heavily these landscape paintings can be loaded with that type of sociopolitical influence! Curator: Hopefully you can take the cue from this to further consider the context from which artwork, any work, comes into the world!