About SEA OF HANDS (Yasmina B.)

The Sea of Hands was originally conceived in 1997 as a creative way of demonstrating opposition to the Federal Government's proposals to amend the Native Title Act to restrict Indigenous
native title rights.
Antar (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) wanted to actively engage people and capture their imaginations in a way that politicians and media could not ignore. Australian Artists Against Racism came up with the idea of recyclable plastic hands in the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, planted in a design.
The Sea of Hands was born !



Native Title :

Native title is a property right which reflects a relationship to land which is the very foundation of Indigenous religion, culture and well-being. The non-discriminatory protection of native title is a recognised human right.

Under the Native Title Act 1993, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner is required to:

• prepare an annual report to the Attorney-General on the operation of the NTA and its effect on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and
• report, when requested by the Attorney-General, on any other matter relating to the rights of Indigenous people under the NTA.

The objectives of the Commissioner are to provide and promote a human rights perspective on native title; assist in developing more efficient native title processes; and to advocate for the co-existence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous interests in land based on compatible land use.


Plastic hands in the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, each one carrying one signature from the Citizen's Statement, were installed in front of Parliament House in Canberra in October 1997, in what was the largest public art installation in Australia. The Sea of Hands has become a symbol of the People's Movement for reconciliation. Wherever possible, the Sea of Hands reproduces designs by a local Indigenous artists.

History of the flag :

The Aboriginal flag is divided into two equal halves. The top is black, the bottom is red and there is a yellow circle in the centre. The black half symbolises Aboriginal people past, present and future. The yellow circle is the sun, the giver and renewer of life. The red half of the flag is the earth. It also represents red ochre symbolising spiritual attachment to the land.



Now a little tourism :

Uluru, also called Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia.

Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area.

It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and former paintings.





You can see why the Aboriginal owners are called the Uluru climbers.

The first Sea of Hands was held on the 12 October 1997. 70,000 coloured plastic hands, each one carrying one signature from the Citizen's Statement, were installed in front of Parliament House in Canberra.

I enjoy admiring those oceans of colorful hands which stretches far and wide forming waves.

If you want to see a video which shows the installation of the plastic hands click here.
If you want to create your own hands click here and then go on "ADD A HAND".
Show imagination !

RABBIT PROOF FENCE :

In class we saw a film called Rabbit Proof Fence. The director is Phillip Noyce.


The story begins in Western Australia in 1931. It tells the story of Molly 14 years old, Gracie 10 years old and Daisy who is only 8 years old, daughters of Aboriginal mothers and white fathers.



The story begins in the tiny depot of Jigalong in northwestern Australia on the edge of the Gibson Desert.They live with their mothers and grandmother.
The white fathers of the three girls who worked on the long fence have abandoned them and moved on.

In Perth, Mr A.O. Neville, the chief protector of Aborigines is the legal guardian of every Aborigine in the State of Western Australia.White people called them "white-caste". His plan is to married aborigine women to white men in order to eliminated half caste. By this title he has the power to remove any half-caste child from their family from anywhere within the state. This is what he kidnap the 3 girls. He want these children forget their language and customs and become completely assimilated into white culture.

What touched me in this film is the scene showed in this picture. It consists about the separation between the 3 girls and their mothers. It's a terrible thing to be dominated and forced to give up all that is sacred to you.This key element is what make this Australian film such a wonderful spiritual adventure story and one of the best films I have never seen.

To my mind, those 3 girls are very courageous. Moreover they are so cute and charming ! I enjoyed watching this movie even if it was sad because we can really see their conditions of life.The story is based on historically true events.

I hope you see this film because it is a moving and an interesting movie !

TO CONCLUDE :

In the fourth unit, we talked about the Sea of Hands, about 3 films (Apocalypse Now, Saving private Ryan and Band of Brothers which all deal with war) and of course about Rabbit proof fence. All those films refer to tragic and dramatic events in the past.
Some favourite people proverb might be « an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth ». But sometimes revenge is not the best way to sort out of a problem or to do justice. In life we must learn to forgive. In fact, like aboriginal behaviour, people have to turn over a new leaf. But on the other hand it is clear that it is not very easy to forget.

Working on this site was very interesting since I have learnt a lot of information about the Sea of Hands which taught us about a whole new culture. Indeed I had never heard about the history of Aboriginals from Australia before. Besides this kind of work is original and can be beneficial. In fact, we do not usually work on the Internet.

Thank you for watching !!!

THE END...