Burke and Wills Expedition II 1975

Curator: This is Sir Sidney Nolan’s "Burke and Wills Expedition II," held in the Tate Collection. Editor: It's desolate. The washes of color create this sense of abandonment, of a barren landscape stretching endlessly. Curator: Absolutely. Nolan's series re-examines the famed expedition through a lens of colonial ambition and tragic failure. The ill-prepared journey reflects themes of cultural misunderstanding and exploitation. Editor: The figure atop the camel, so small against the vast terrain, speaks to human hubris in the face of the unknown. The camel itself becomes a loaded symbol – foreign, resilient, yet ultimately insufficient. Curator: It’s a powerful meditation on the narratives we construct around exploration and the price paid by both the land and its inhabitants. Editor: Indeed. It leaves you contemplating the weight of ambition and the fragility of human endeavors against the backdrop of history.