Killa: Pindan to Plate
Killa aims to give people a peek behind the veil. To experience the life and country of west Kimberley mob. Bardi people like me have been fortunate to have an unsealed, corrugated dirt road deterring vehicles from making the trip to our Country, protecting our Country, culture and way of life. Our old people have kept language, culture and law strong. This remoteness also meant that meat was expensive to buy from the shop. Our way of life continued and we have always turned to Country to sustain us. Most of the cattle stations are gone but remnants from that time remain with old rusting windmills and cattle yards still present. Employment is not easy to come by in remote communities but in the west Kimberley, tourism is providing jobs that allow us to stay home on Country. Times have changed and now you can drive to our country on a sealed road. I recommend everyone take the opportunity to visit the Dampier Peninsula and do a tour with a Bardi person. See the world through our eyes for a day – hunt, fish and eat delicious food. Hear the stories we have to share with you about this land. For those who can't make it there, there is Killa . Share in a unique long table dinner whilst being immersed in a video installation that will transport you to the west Kimberley and give you some insight to our way of life.
I have always seen Killa as a celebration – a celebration of food narratives, food histories and food cultures that questioned what distinctly Australian food is. Killa is also a lens to view Australian food stories. The migrant food narrative has been canonised, whilst 60,000 years of Indigenous food has been silenced. In our first meeting with artist collaborator Lloyd Pigram we discussed “the authorship of taste”; what the West deems palatable or in fashion is aligned with who writes history. But it's also aligned with consumption, power and access – who has the power to industrialise, market and sell food manipulates the dialogue. With infinite content in Indigenous food and a whole country to explore, we are just starting to scratch the surface. Food goes in and out of fashion – rabbit, ox tail, lamb shanks, tongue, sheep brains, nose to tail dining. What is deemed palatable is marketed by the dominant culture. As Australian cuisine continues to evolve and find itself, I look towards our oldest living culture, their practices and principles to lead the way.
Emilia Galatis , Curator
Chad Creighton , Curator
A Perth Festival Commission Presented with The Rechabite
Extracts from artist notes by Killa curators Chad Creighton and Emilia Galatis. The full notes can be found online at perthfestival.com.au
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