Onespace is excited to announce the inclusion of Teho Ropeyarn in the TarraWarra Biennial of 2025: We Are Eagles.
Inaugurated in 2006, the TarraWarra Biennial was established to identify new trends in contemporary Australian art through an experimental curatorial platform. The ninth TarraWarra Biennial’s title We Are Eagles, is derived from a speech given at the 1938 Day of Mourning—the seminal south-eastern First Nations political movement held on 26 January on the 150th anniversary of the colonisation of Australia—where activist and change agent Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls KCVO OBE called for equal rights and an end to colonial oppression, stating “we do not want chicken-feed … we are not chickens; we are eagles.”
Curator Kimberley Moulton said: ‘We Are Eagles is an exhibition that considers the relationality between cultural material, memory and place and the ways embodied knowledge disrupts coloniality and prescribed notions of identity within the Australian imaginary. Through this exhibition I am applying a First Peoples curatorial approach to a wide range of contemporary Australian artists and hope to share ways in which creative practice can re-story our connections to object and memory.’
Exhibition: 29 March – 20 July 2025
TarraWarra Museum of Art, Wurundjeri Country
Teho Ropeyarn Artwork Statement
Them Old People embodies strength and spiritual power, capturing the essence of Aboriginality across Australia. It showcases resilience, protection, and the enduring presence of our old people—the spirits—who guide us in our deep connection to people, place, and Country.
The motifs in this work are elements taken from traditional patterns painted on men’s torsos, arms, and legs in dancing ceremonies in my community of Injinoo. My practice focuses on revitalising and documenting our culture and identity through the remaining fragments of our existence. My works assert our Aboriginal identity through contemporary designs that reflect my people, Country, and the knowledge of our old people passed down through my family.
Growing up on Country, camping and living in the bush in remote Injinoo, our parents, uncles, aunties, and grandparents always referred to the old people (spirits) as having more power, control, and authority over Country. It wasn’t our Elders as earthly beings who held this power and authority over the land. Although they have this connection and direct link to the old people, enacting the correct processes with the younger generations, they always seemed to defer to the old people—the spirits who traverse the physical, natural, and spiritual worlds—as holding authority over the land.
Through this work, I honour the resilience of our ancestors, those who have shaped our governance and knowledge systems and who have carved out our futures. As First Nations people, we understand that things happen for a reason, and we are continually reminded of this spirituality. This work serves as a reminder to never forget who we are.
TarraWarra Biennial 2025 | We Are Eagles
Teho Ropeyarn, Them Old People, lino-cut print on paper, 110 x 200cm. Image: Michael Marzik. Courtesy of the artist and Onespace.
