I was inspired to investigate the impacts that the misrepresentation and fake production of Indigenous art had on local native communities. This was after drawing upon my profile feature of artist, gallery owner and entrepreneur, Melony Sirminotis, "An artwork Reflects the Artist". Sirminotis is influential in the metropolitan local community through her involvement in supporting Indigenous art and striving to tackle the misrepresentation of Indigenous art, building a foundation of trust, understanding, and connection.

Fake Indigenous art only serves to erode the expression of Aboriginal culture. Tokenistic and gamified forms of Indigenous art, aimed at tourists and non indigenous Australians are completely misappropriated for the purpose of monetisation and exploit the communities which they are supposedly advocating for.

My investigation covered three main angles; the angle of an aspiring Indigenous artist, about the effect that misappropriation of Indigenous art has on her career, identity and lifestyle. Additionally, I explored the impacts that inauthentic Indigenous art had on the emerging generations of First nations people, in culture and education.

"It's really difficult to share my artwork with society...people need to understand that there is importance in the authenticity of artwork and where it comes from". (Farag, 2022)

Phoebe Farag is a young Indigenous Darug woman and an aspiring artist located North of the Greater Western Sydney region.

There is a misconception that all art is derivative, and that it's simply an umbrella for everyone to reproduce, recreate and appropriate. In terms of Indigenous Australian art, this is far beyond reality, and the misinterpretation of Indigenous art is incredibly harmful to Aboriginal communities and artists. There is no legislation in Australia that prevents people from making fake art and misappropriating the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These commodities are catastrophic, and they are completely legalised.

Farag is an aspiring Indigenous artist located in a rural/remote region North of Greater Western Sydney. Farag made a conscious decision to base her work offline, "I choose not to blur the lines between my online presence and my art to maintain connection to my tradition and my work" (Farag, 2022).

Because Farag is not online it means that her work is only accessible to those who are seeking real handmade indigenous art from this particular rural community. 

Farag is aware of the danger associated with online exposure and does not want to risk her work being exploited.

It is devastating that an aspiring artist feels she has to oppress her identity and the expression of her work to mitigate the risk of exploitation. 

The internet and social media should be a place where Indigenous art can flourish and artists can be acclaimed and recognised for their work. It is saddening that many indigenous artists like Farag feel that they must take these precautions therefore limiting their own potential.

Phoebe Farag, 2022

Furthermore, Indigenous mother of four expresses her concern about how inauthentic Aboriginal art damages culture and triggers generational trauma.

Smith is concerned about the misrepresentation of indigenous art and the effects it will have on her children's perception of their heritage.

She fears that expression of traditional indigenous art forms are deteriorating and that it is becoming increasingly more difficult for non indigenous/young Indigenous people raised in popular tourism areas to differentiate between false and authentic art.

“This robs them of opportunities to learn about their culture”. (Pryke, 2022).

Misappropriated Aborigional and Torres Strait islander art and undermines the role of indigenous communities and hinders cultural traditions.

Fake and tokenistic Aboriginal art forms are flooding the Australian tourist market and becoming a mainstream commodity, therefore altering the perception of aboriginal culture to non indigenous people through false representation.

This is not only deceptive toward those of non indigenous descent, it also compromises authentic culture which may impair the emerging identity of First Nations people.

This is destructive because it sabotages rural and remote communities. The creation of fake indigenous art and the exploitation of uncredited work significantly contributes to the socioeconomic gap between Indigous and non indigenous australians. This is because non Indigenous people are reaping financial benefits by taking advantage of those trying to showcase their work or express their culture. The divide also creates trust issues amongst communities, impacting the Australian public sphere and the role of active citizenship. 

I also explored the impact that fake Indigenous art has on the cultural awareness and creative education of young Australians. 

Tony Simnor, Steiner education teacher, often leads art workshops which incorporate traditional Indigenous art forms and teaching through aboriginal dream time stories. 

“Misappropriation of indigenous art threatens the foundation of traditional craft and diminishes artwork morality, which is why it is important that action is taken to advocate for and protect authentic Aboriginal art”. (Simnor, 2022)

State education systems have a K-12 visual arts curriculum in place which unanimously educates students about aboriginal and Torres strait islander art forms, and the appropriate means of expression. It is imperative that independent, and private schools implement this type of education so that the minority of emerging generations don’t impede the progress and decisions of those who have been educated to be culturally aware in regards to Indigenous art. 

Phoebe Farag, 2022