Bulpadok 2022

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY

The Bulpadok team and its contributors acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the land on which this journal was created, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded, and that we live and work on stolen land.

The Bulpadok is committed to reconciliation.

LIST OF ALL CONTRIBUTORS

Amelia Carrillo

Harlan Wright

Thalia Youn

Rahim Bahlouli

Gonya Luate

Urszula Nowak

Anais Peate

Dr Benjamin Thomas

Freya Giles

Clare Weaver

Stella Mackenzie

Hamish Connor

Mikayla Hand

Angus Billson

Sabrina Yeoh

Ben Sutherland

Emily Shalless

Hayley Marsh

Chiara du Plessis

FROM THE ASSISTANT EDITOR

What began as a creative endeavour to encapsulate the artistic spirit of the College has become that and much more. Coinciding With the College’s Sesquicentennial, this edition seeks to highlight the amalgamation of the past, journey to today, and beyond.

Despite being overwhelmed at first, the immense creative flexibility the Bulpadok team and I had in creating this edition was incredibly exciting and freeing. While inspired by past editions, and the environments which influenced them, this edition is proudly unique.

Of course, this edition is also unique because of the incredible team I was so lucky to work beside. Whether it be Emily’s constant motivation and drive, Chiara’s creative vision, Ursula’s artistic expertise or Gonya’s written prowess, it will be clear when you read that this edition would not be what it is without them.

FROM THE WRITTEN CONTENT MANAGER

It has been an absolute pleasure to the written content manager of the 2022 edition of the Bulpadok. I have always been a bookworm and fascinated by the world of arts – particularly the depth and breadth of the practice. I suppose reading and writing is my niche within the broad arena, I have always taken a liking to human expression through words.

I believe that literature is timeless and spellbinding. An extremely gifted craft.

And so, as I read through the submissions put through and conversed with many students; I saw myself fall into the prose of the writer. Captivated by the narrative –entranced by a spell-of-sorts.

This year’s edition includes various poems and essays that capture the array of talent lurking in the Trinity corridors. It has been an absolute joy piecing together these written pieces – trying to do them justice through arranging and sorting. Stringing together text and image - words, and pictures; essentially art and art.

I hope all readers might be pleased with the choices made and the pieces selected, that you may fall into the same trance I did when I first read some of these works and fall into the stylistic prose of (potentially) your corridor neighbour.

FROM THE VISUAL CONTENT MANAGER

Working as a visual editor for this year’s edition of the Bul was such a great opportunity to not only curate but to have an insight into the artistry of my fellow Trinitarians. The process of getting submissions and, in some instances, chasing after submissions, was so exciting. There is something so beautiful about seeing the world through the artistry of others.

“You could appreciate the beauty of the world by trying to paint it [or photograph it as you’ll see a wealth of photography in this edition].” (Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh)

I loved working with the team, curating the ideas and expressions of those who had submitted, and discussing how these ideas worked together. It felt like a little bubble of creativity and I’m so excited to share it with all of you! Happy reading (or looking, I suppose).

ANGUS BILLSON, LIGHTBULB.

Easterners as violent have been increasingly propagated, thereby contributing to the discrimination we see today.

The thread of racism is tightly woven into the fabric of contemporary Western society. It is entrenched in the media, in societal attitudes and even in cinema and television. It reaches into every corner of modern Western culture, where the oppression of Middle Eastern people is sickeningly normalised. This racism manifests prominently in Hollywood, where stereotypical depictions of Middle Eastern villains are the norm. Presenting Middle Eastern people as terrorists, suicide bombers and rapists has been standard practice since the 1970s (Woods, 2019). When the leading influence in cinema vilifies the Middle East and broadcasts it to the world, it causes irreversible damage. It causes the type of damage that normalises the notion that refugees deserve to die at sea rather than make it to Western shores.

Growing up as a Muslim, North African immigrant in a Western country, I have experienced much of this racism and discrimination first-hand. I grew up watching my right to exist in Australian society debated in media and my people used as political pawns. I even witnessed the rise of a political party dedicated to the eradication of Muslims from Australia, as well as the complete rejection of refugees from our shores. Therefore, I am all too familiar with contemporary views regarding the Muslim world and the Middle East. Western culture has largely succeeded in painting Middle Eastern people as terrorists, rapists and violent criminals. My people are continually misrepresented and stereotyped in all areas of society. But having lived my entire life amongst the very

In 2022, Trinity College celebrated it’s 150 Year Anniversary.

TRINITY COLLEGE ARCHIVES, MM 004814 (1968)

In dedication to the many years of friendship and community within this college,

A handful of old photographs were recreated with the 2022 Cohort.

2022 PHOTOGRAPHS BY URSZULA NOWAK

Mention the name Sharwood and current students will likely assign it to a courtyard that carries his name, soon to be consumed under a northward expanding café. Or the quaint little brick building that stands in isolation at the end of that courtyard. Some might even recall a slightly comical portrait in the Hall, his small frame and even smaller head seem to be all but engulfed by the voluminous folds of his doctoral gown. Wasn’t he a Warden at one stage, they might ask?

And yet it was the gentile, quietly-spoken but at times forcefully opinionated Robin Sharwood whose vision for Trinity included art on the walls as much a part of the collegiate experience as chairs in the Hall.

‘I firmly believed that the College was an institution which should, and could, develop a fine art collection over a period of time’, he explained in 2015, at the fiftieth anniversary of his installation as Trinity’s fourth Warden. ‘I was encouraged in this belief by the Oxford and Cambridge collections.’

Art wasn’t wholly unfamiliar at College. The earliest gifts to Trinity had begun to arrive in the 1880s and 90s, a little over a decade since the college’s founding. The largest of these had come from George W. Rusden, whose eclectic collection of Asian and Pacific objet de’art and curios acquired during his own earlier travels in the 1860s formed the basis of what was later known as

The Rusden Museum in Upper Clark after his death in 1903. It was taken down at the end of the First World War, as the college struggled to meet the demand for more student places.

In 1911, on the cusp of Europe tearing itself apart, a well-travelled bohème blew into

Melbourne after twenty-five years in France. Localborn artist Rupert Bunny was quickly approached by a group of Trinity alumni to produce a portrait of Dr Alexander Leeper, by then almost thirty-five years in the role as warden.

The resultant work, which continues to hang in the Hall, would establish a tradition of outgoing wardens being immortalised on canvas as they exited, stage left. Returning alumnus-turned-Rhodes scholar-turnedwarden John ‘Jock’ Behan (TC 1903) would be next, in 1946. Ron Cowan followed, after his sudden death in office.

Robin Sharwood’s portrait, by emerging artist Rick Amor, broke the mould. Indeed, it almost broke Robin. The traditional serious demeanour of a respected academic became a seeming caricature of flattened forms and bold colours, a diminutive head emerging from the folds of his gown. It soon became

a student favourite. Accordingly, it soon became the fourth warden’s favourite, and opened the door for a broader, more varied approach to the college’s portrait collection.

In the early 1980s, an Art Committee was formed. Drawing upon a raft of external expertise and budding art enthusiasts, the group counted among their ranks students and graduates whose later careers would illustrate the calibre of art expertise. The late, great Angus Trumble (TC 1983), who would become the Director of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia; Lara Nicholls (TC 1986), a curator with the National Gallery of Australia, or Associate Professor Alison Inglis (TC 1977), who coordinated

the Masters of Curatorship at the University of Melbourne for the best part of a quarter of a century until her recent retirement. The committee, in its final decade was chaired by Sir Andrew Grimwade (TC 1949), also chairing the Felton Bequest Committee whose endowed riches provided so much support to the National Gallery of Victoria.

Under the Art Committee’s guidance, the historical legacy that the majority of the college’s portraits were men was actively addressed. Eminent female artist Judy Cassab was commissioned to portray Dame Leonie Kramer (JCH 1942), an alumna of the college’s Women’s Hostel and then ViceChancellor of the University of Sydney. Juan Ford captured with deft realism Fay Marles (JCH 1944), Chancellor of the University of Melbourne. Caroline Williams was engaged to depict two earlier, significant alumnae in Lilian Helen Alexander (TC 1883), Trinity’s first female student and Melian Stawell (TC 1996). Hong Kong-born John Young was commissioned to portray Susan Lim (TC 1977), both artist and subject bringing cultural diversity into the collection, alongside the issues of gender representation being addressed. The criteria established at this time continues to shape and inform the

portrait collection’s growth.

In 1990, student involvement in the vision became a reality with the establishment of the ER White Society. Some three decades earlier, Trinity had received the gift of a painting by young, emerging artist John Brack. Bright in colour and abstracted in form, The Breakfast Table (1958) never quite found an appreciative home. With the donor’s blessing, it was put to auction in 1989 and the funds invested to provide for a new C&S to make an annual purchase of a work of

contemporary Australian art, to continue to honour alumnus Edward Rowden White (TC 1901), Senior Student in 1905. For more than three decades since, the student-led society has shaped and melded the ER White Collection, hung in common areas across the campus, and ensured both much lively - and inevitably at times - contested debate about their final acquisition.

Another significant arm to Trinity’s art collection came about at the turn of the 20th century, and the founding

of a more deliberate Indigenous engagement within the residential college. With the establishment of two scholarships to support First Nation students came also the earliest Indigenous works into the art collection. The ER White played an active role, as they have continued to do so since and have again this

year in Wadawurrung artist Deanne Gilson’s Don’t Gang Up on Me Ya Galah (2022). It was through Trinity’s earliest relationships with the Marika family from Yirrkala in far northeast Arnhem land that the College’s Miwatj Collection of Yolngu art has been centered. Such works have built upon and spoken into the various residential student trips north, to Minyerri and further afield to other Yolngu homelands.

and much-needed resolution to the conditions in the Behan basement for the storage of valuable collection material. Annual exhibitions soon became a regular fixture of the event’s calendar; initially one a year and by the onset of covid no fewer than three, rotating exhibitions, bringing in Archibald winning artists such

With the opening of the Gateway Building in August 2016, a new gallery and exhibition space – the Burke Gallery – was imagined. And with it, professional collection storage areas that, through climate-controlled environments, provided a significant

as Nicholas Harding or hitherto hidden collections of Indigenous bark paintings from the 1960s.

As COVID continues to retreat, it is hoped that these exhibitions, and a rich and stimulating culture of art and engagement across campus will once again flourish.

PHOTOGRAPH BY URSZULA NOWAK

alternatives of ourselves depending on the desired identity we want to portray. In controlling the way that we are perceived, we offer and construct versions of ourselves to appeal to specific people and directly influence who it is that they are seeing and perceiving us as. Negotiating identity is a practice human’s have been engaged with for far longer than we have been using social media, but the increasing relevance of digital personhood only makes the process of online identity construction and negotiation ever more relevant. Serafinelli (2017) suggests that we produce meaning by connecting our presentations of self on social media to pre-existing personal experiences, knowledge, or wider cultural discourses. This suggests that although we are presenting alternate versions of ourselves, digital personhood is still an element of our true, original personhood and thus, a reflection of our identity. Within these spheres of online representation though, mobile technologies encourage the development of new frameworks for human interactions as online platforms and environments constantly alter and change our interpersonal connections (Serafinelli 2017). Hilsen and Helvik (2012) lead an interesting analysis of the uses of social media and visual communications online, wherein their central argument questions online relationships and interactions, specifically how we choose what to share, and with who? As participants of the digital age, we are well aware of the multiple uses of social media, from staying in touch with faraway friends and family, to maintaining regular everyday relationships. Within these various interactions, the choice of images and content that we share with different groups is highly influential on the identities that we portray. Social media allows individuals to “present themselves,

establish or maintain connection with others, and articulate their social networks”, as well as accumulating large networks of “friends”, or followers, to promote idealised versions of ourselves which are popular and well connected (Hilsen and Helvik 2012). The visual images that we share on social media provide “new possibilities for presentation of self” and for the ways that we manage the identities that we present to others (Hilsen and Helvik 2012). Additionally, Van Dijck (2008) suggests that in the establishing and confirmation of relationships and communities online, we use the circulation of digital images to confirm our connections with others, and gain validation through interactions such as likes, comments, or shares. Through the click of a button, we are instantaneously approved by our audiences as they interact with our online personas. Van Dijck (2008) also argues that when we are conveying information through visual cues and content online, the specific content of each image becomes less significant and instead, the key message is conveyed through an overall sentiment produced by the entire profile or account. “A thousand pictures sent over the phone may now be worth a single word: ‘see!’”, demonstrating the effect of our self-presentation efforts on changing the overall meaning of visual images, in that they communicate overall ideas and aspects of our identity as well as examples of our lifestyle choices and behaviours when interpreted in conjunction with various codes and signals (Van Dijck 2008). When negotiating identity within online communities and groups, visual images communicate our personalities and a perception of who we are, influencing external perceptions and our position within social configurations.

When establishing our membership in online groups and communities, the visual images and content that we engage with communicate our values and negotiate identity as elements of digital personhood. After we have established our digital personas through our social media profiles over various platforms, we engage in further identity construction through the specific content that we interact with. By following certain community or subject accounts and profiles, or by liking, sharing, and commenting on the content from certain people or pages, we express our ideas and values about certain topics which establishes our connection to these groups as elements of our online identity. Smahel and Subrahmanyam (2010) define “social virtual identity” as an individual’s experience and efforts towards belonging to a particular online world or community, ultimately reflecting their efforts offline. Within these groups, individuals share their opinions and express their personalities through visual images and content, and as a result are met with like sentiments from similar people, contributing to enhanced connectedness and negotiating specific identity and group membership (Smahel and Subrahmanyam 2010). Serafinelli (2017) suggests that there is a “necessary dichotomy between the physical and virtual worlds”, but that ultimately, the practises that we participate in online reflect our in-person ideas and behaviours because digital personhood is an extension of our in-person identities. The most significant method by which we negotiate our place in online groups is through interacting with other people’s content. Cantrell et al.

(2022) presented an analysis on the use of Facebook reactions and the messages they convey when users respond to posts with either a “like, heart, care, laugh, wow, sad, or angry” reaction, expressed through “visual animations and conceptual metaphors” to communicate emotional response to certain content. These visual images and stimuli play a significant role in sharing affective information and enriching the level of interaction between Facebook users, as this process assists individuals with engaging in group discussions and communicating their values and ideas (Cantrell et al. 2022). To effectively utilise and understand Facebook reaction use and communication, there are specific codes shared between an individual and their target audience, which ultimately rely on the understanding and interpretation of visual images in online contexts to communicate values and identity (Cantrell et. al 2022). When consolidating our identities offline, the events we attend, the people we regularly see, the places we work, and the groups we are part of all convey our values and beliefs to the people around us. When constructing our digital identities, we convey these same values and ideas through online versions of these groups, sharing carefully selected visual images and engaging with other people’s content through considered codes and digital practises. Negotiating personhood in the present requires us to develop reflections of our offline selves in online contexts, using visual images to construct highly manipulated versions of our identities.

ARTWORK BY MIKAYLA HAND

PHOTOGRAPH BY BEN SUTHERLAND

Essay by Urszula Nowak

Two Men Dancing and Depictions of Male Homosexuality

Robert Mapplethorpe is infamous for his unapologetic depictions of male homosexuality in Regan-era America. However, his work Two Men Dancing (fig.1) is a key example of an oftenundervalued aspect of his work. Originally a part of a commercial commission for a Dutch dance company that Mapplethorpe later decided to incorporate into his official archives, Two Men Dancing is notably different from Mapplethorpe’s confronting depictions of the gay male S&M community. Despite these differences, the work is nonetheless a political statement within its context and draws on the canon of queer artists throughout history. Mapplethorpe’s expression of male homosexual tenderness in Two Men Dancing is not a deviation from the revolutionary elements of his previous work, but instead asserts the cultural and romantic significance of male homosexuality.

Interestingly, Two Men Dancing stands in stark contrast to the work that Mapplethorpe is most renowned for. Northcross describes his S&M work as a “visual onslaught” filled with “graphic horror”. These works shocked viewers and even contributed to bills in the Senate being proposed to ban any National Endowment for the Arts funding for works featuring homoeroticism and S&M. Within the context of AIDS panic and ‘Culture Wars’ in America in the seventies and eighties, Mapplethorpe’s work being so unapologetically queer was nothing short of revolutionary. The topics that “Reagan’s America wanted

to hide behind a fig leaf” were the very subject matter of Mapplethorpe’s work. These violent depictions of underground queer culture were mostly taken between 1977 to 1980. However, after this point, some of Mapplethorpe’s still lives, nudes and portraits began to shift away from the brutal subject matter of the previous period. Two Men Dancing is one of his nudes from this period where he focused his attention on the male figure accentuated by the use of contrast and shadow. On one hand, these works are notably different, it is generally easier to look at an image of a muscled nude figure than of a nail being sliced into blood-soaked genitalia. When placed in comparison with Mapplethorpe’s more visually confronting works, Two Men Dancing seems to be a softer diversion away from his typically more explicit subject matter.

However, the expression of romantic, homosexual tenderness in Two Men Dancing is no less revolutionary in the context of Reagan-era America. Two major aspects of the work contribute to this: firstly, the depiction of the two figures in relation to each other and secondly, the stylistic choices. Importantly, the fact that the image was a commission for a dance company is helpful in understanding the hyper-stylised posing of the subjects; the somewhat rigid, uncomfortable positioning of the figure’s hands in the forefront. This element is furthered by the plastic crowns emphasising the performativity of the subjects.

Contrastingly, the way that the two bodies almost mould into each other with the head on the shoulder and the almost peaceful yearning of the facial expression, seem entirely natural. As such, it is almost as if despite the posed nature of the image, the gentle yearning between the figures remains. In this case, the piece is a celebration of love and exudes a level of comfort found within that love. Further, Mapplethorpe’s classic use of negative space, accentuated by the medium of a glossy silver gelatine print, places this expression of tenderness front and centre. While it is indeed true that queer S&M photography would be shocking to the audience of the time it is also true that for a society that classed gay men within the context of AIDS as disease-ridden undesirables, expressions of tender love between gay men would also be politically charged. Therefore, Two Men Dancing is only a deviation from Mapplethorpe’s usual practice in terms of subject matter; the political queer context remains.

The stylistic influences of the work make a further connection to queer artists of the past, asserting a cultural contingency of queer art. The use of black and white film photography heightens the shadow’s effect, accentuating the harsh lines of the male form. One only has to examine Mapplethorpe’s use of light to see the way that the figures allude to “Greek sculpture [and] Caravaggio”. The influence

of Caravaggio is evidenced by the use of Chiaroscuro through the dark background contrasting the light foreground as well as the glossy print making the figures appear as white marble. The hyper-stylised pose of the figures adds the bulky sculptural elements as well as an aestheticized nature that create the allusion to the sculpted male figure as seen with Michelangelo or Canova (fig.2). Additionally, the contrast between the black background and the centralised exposure on the white figures combined with the camera angle places the focus on the figures, like a sculpture emerging out of the dark background. Here, Mapplethorpe draws a link between queer artists of the past and himself. The influence of other queer artists also extends to photographers such as Cecil Beaton, whose influence can be seen through the soft glossy finish of the prints as well as artists who depicted marginalised groups such as Diane Arbus. Consequently, in utilising style and technique to draw connections to past artists, Two Men Dancing can be seen as an exemplification of the techniques of other queer artists.

“Within The Context Of Aids Panic And ‘Culture Wars’ In America In The Seventies And Eighties, Mapplethorpe’s Work Being So Unapologetically Queer Was Nothing Short Of Revolutionary.”

In this essay, I have conducted a visual analysis of Mapplethorpe’s Two Men Dancing in order to realise it as an expression of revolutionary queer art. In comparison with his previous work, it is far less confronting but within the context of AIDS-panic, the celebration of queer love is nonetheless political as furthered by the influences of other queer artists. Therefore, Mapplethorpe’s Two Men Dancing is a politically charged celebration of queer love.

BEN SUTHERLAND

PHOTOGRAPH BY

HARLAN WRIGHT BOXED

Four-walled, locked-in, whirlwind tongues whip under doors and windows. Easy enough, looking through irises floating against a hallway’s current or fencer-posed, chest-pressed squeezed through limbs: inorganic contact the buzzing and thumping soles of your feet.

Briefest glance dance murmured hellos across barely turned lips, if you know them well enough. Atrophied tendons lengthwise neck-wise, tugging (garrotting) words; even if it’s her: rather finish, walk her

to the door and not say much more. Crumple inwards along pre-set failure seams; drink, and maybe people laugh or people laugh in morning memories in different ways. Cubist mirror maze; but not even that can drag me out of here.

NO MANS LAND BY GONYA LUATE

South Sudan is situated in East Africa. The country borders the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

South Sudan is supposed to be my home. The land – an accumulation of dust, grass, and dirt – cultivated by my people.

An ancestral lineage that trails through history; a singular line. The soil hardened by the compacted dirt and the manure scattered under the tall wheat.

The children play alongside the livestock, the sun piercing through the sky. As the children shuffle in and out of the tall grass, speeding up and down the paddock and racing competitively alongside the goats; the women go to the market.

Sun down approached the city – a shadow of the city of Juba trails behind the silhouettes of the women. Their endless chatter follows them through the afternoon. Sound waves bouncing off the tukul huts and echoing into the ceaseless chasm - the humid sky and incubated warmth. The following conversations take place:

“Wallah zol de mah be agdel amalu aya hajah, malesh!”

Wallah! That man can’t do anything, sorry.

“De zol mujunun, o be wonoosu kalamfarik.”

That’s a stubborn man, he speaks nonsense.

“Ah Maloo? Itacum be attiku kooliyom!”

Ah what’s wrong? You guys are always laughing!

Broken languages mended together on the dust swept streets of Juba, home.

My people are strong – it runs through ancestral lineage.

The Mundari clan are warriors.

My Father told me that my name reflects my life – my history and my culture.

My name is Estell [Gonya Luate] Luate.

A name birthed out of refuge and unfamiliarity – my name reflects my circumstance, my being, my presence, and my absence.

I was named after an ancestral figure, passed through from 3-4

She was shot in the leg – a crutch nuzzled under her left armpit, safinja ¹ collecting dust at her feet, a broadened smile revealing deep wells where teeth should be – I only met Gonya once. Not the original Gonya, but a successor. The original Gonya is a predecessor – I am a successor. My father says that his grandfather had not even seen Gonya. Gonya –a character legacy – my name. At times, I wish to reach deep into my myself into the abyss of my endless heritage and far into the ancestral

To know, feel and understand what being a Gonya entails.

My identity stands before me with a gaping hole in the middle. The shape is odd, I realise that I have no pieces that resemble its shape. The shape is obscure – maybe if I wrapped my arms around my body and stretched certain ligaments in my body, maybe I would be the missing

Names are valued in my culture. They tell a narrative – an extensive, fulfilled, and detailed representation of your history.

My father’s first name. My last name.

Luate defines the circumstances surrounding the birth of my father; the boy amongst many girls.

My name is Estell [Gonya Luate] Luate, it reflects the diversified nature of my birth and my family.

The name Estell was given to me upon our endeavour to Australia. A journey that lead to unfamiliarity and struggle. Often the struggle is associated with Africa, its depleting wealth and poverty-stricken countries; but for us it began in Australia.

Estell supported my family and our attempt to assimilate into Australian culture, her final gift to our family was her name; to be given to their new born baby.

They called me the Australian.

My parents told me that if anything happened, if they were ever told to return to South Sudan that I would be their hope. They’d say, “No our daughter, she is Australian, she has a birth certificate. You cannot deport her - you cannot deport us; we need to support her”.

My only understanding of life has been built in Australia. But, I am yet to form this prideful response to national identity and Australian culture.

Living in Australia as a South Sudanese migrant is far from simple. There is an intercultural shift that takes place – the difficult nature of identifying with one culture yet trying to assimilate into another. This balance that must be established when attempting to fully engage yourself in Australian culture, yet not lose sight of your roots.

The island state of Tasmania is located southwards of mainland Australia, the land itself is rich in agriculture and serene destinations. She walks – she strolls down the streets of Evandale, her heartbeat in time with her steps, in time with each breath, in time with the pulse of the sun streaming on the road by her side. Entering the gates that lead way towards the Evandale marketplace, her senses are greeted with an array of bitter coffee – the confined heat seeping from cardboard cups, to the fresh produce scented with lemon and grass. Approaching a stall, she is stopped by a middle-aged lady, with a coffee in hand. The lady settles her eyes on her face.

A soft gaze accompanied with metallic eyes.

“Hello, how are you?”, she addresses the girl – eager for a response. Eager for the conversational aspect of her words to dissipate, that she may address her only concern.

“I’m good, thank you. How are you?” Reciprocating a kind manner, the girl hinted a smile on her bottom lip.

“I am great, thank you for asking! And where are you from?”

The question caused great disturbance to the girl, internally she arranged her thoughts and ordered them carefully.

I am fully Australian. I am also fully South Sudanese. Neither will forfeit at the expense of the other.

I must consider the interests of the Sudanese community.

I must consider the interests of the Australian community.

Within my own intercultural lifestyle – I have learnt to live in No Man’s Land, the strip of land that distinctly divides these two cultures.

Alienated as the opposing sides fight. Alienated as the few other’s in No Man’s Land flee to one side, only to be held hostage. We do not belong on one side or the other, we do not belong in No Man’s Land.

We should not be in war.

My name is Estell [Gonya Luate] Luate.

I am an Australian South-Sudanese.

When I reflect on what the role of the Arts is in the Trinity community, its purpose to me is instantly clear – it is about bringing energy and vibrancy to our college lives. In my experience, having a passion for the Arts and committing to creating an artistic community that can flourish, builds the foundation for a developed sense of identity, creativity, and belonging. I love all the ‘hidden skills’ that we build through engaging in a wide variety of artistic endeavours. Confidence and greater self esteem, a sense of community and friendship, collaborative skills and trust in others – all of which really underpin our motivations for being in a College community to begin with!

I am so excited to continue to build off the fabulous efforts of the previous TCAC and Arts Representative as we continue to navigate how best to rebuild our appreciation of the Arts in a post-covid environment. I am envisaging that to do this, my work is going to involve publicising more arts events and activities leading to greater involvement in artistic facets of College life, using the JCR and other platforms to promote local performers and artistic success in our community, and developing our understanding and appreciation of art in a broader context, through connecting with alumni, collaborating with the TCAC and intercollegiate community. I hope in this way to broaden our concept of ‘art’ in the community – journalism, theatresports, poetry, photography, language, writing, debating and more!

Having a background in mainly the performing arts, I am eager to have the opportunity to promote and organise iconic arts events in our social calendar, such as the Musical, Play and Arts Gala. But perhaps most importantly, I am excited at the opportunity we now have to work on how we use art to our advantage to promote inclusivity in the College community.

The Arts at Trinity is slowly coming back to life, and I am looking forward to being proactive in making changes that our students most want to see in the community and arts space. I’m excited to expand the College’s understanding of what the Arts can provide to us on an individual level, and also to strengthen bonds with each other.

Above all, I’m excited at the opportunity to listen to the voices of the community as we expand.

REFERENCES

Rahim Bahloui, The Consequences of Hypocrisy: Understanding Discrimination against Middle Eastern People in a Western Context

Amnesty International. (2021, March 12). EU: Anniversary of Turkey deal offers warning against further dangerous migration deals.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/03/eu-anniversary-of-turkey-deal offers-warning-against-further-dangerous-migration-deals/

Amnesty International. (2022, January 31). Libya/EU: Conditions remain ‘hellish’ as EU marks 5 years of cooperation agreements.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/01/libya-eu-conditions-remain-hellish-as-eu marks-5-years-of-cooperation-agreements/

UNHCR. (2022, September 13). Refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe. https://data. unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine

The White House. (2003, March 2022). President Discusses Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. https://georgewbush

whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030322.html

Iraq Body Count. (2022, August 30). The public record of violent deaths following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. https://www.iraqbodycount.org

Watson Institute, Brown University. (2021, August). Costs of War: Iraqi Refugees. https:// watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/refugees/iraqi

Woods, G. (2019). Adventure, Intrigue, and Terror: Arabs and the Middle East in Hollywood Film Music. [Honor Thesis, DePauw University].

https://scholarship.depauw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1129&context=studentresearch

Gonya Luate, the Vilification of South Sudanese Youth

ABC News. (2020). Meet three south sudanese refugees making their mark in australia. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-12/meet-south-sudanese-refugees-making-their-mark/12434498

ABC News. (2018). The Daily Mail and Gang Misappropriation. Retrieved from https://www. abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/the-daily-mail-and-gang-misappropriation/9972808

ABC Media Watch

Abur, W. (2018). Systematic Vilification and Racism Are Affecting on the South Sudanese Community in Australia. International Journal of Scientific Research. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/ gelua/Downloads/SystemVilificationandRaacismareaffecttingontheSouthSudanesCommunityinAustralia.pdf

Budarick, J. (2019). Why the media are to blame for racialising melbourne’s ‘african gang’ problem. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/why-the-media-are-toblame-for-racialising-melbournes-african-gang-problem-100761

Burin, M. (2018). People Think All African Kids Are Bad. ABC News. Retrieved from

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-08/melbourne-sudanese-families-overcoming-gangstereotype/10016858?nw=0

Coventry, G., Dawes, G., Moston, S., & Palmers, D. (2014). Sudanese Australians and Crime: Police and Community Perspectives. Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved from https:// www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi477

Davey, M. (2016). Melbourne Street Brawl Blamed on Apex Gang After Moomba Festival. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/ma r/14/ melbourne-street-brawl-blamed-on-apex-gang-af ter-moomba-festival

Henriques-Gomes, L. (2018). South Sudanese-Australians Report Racial Abuse Intensified After ‘African Gangs’ Claims. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ nov/04/south-sudanese-australians-report-abuse-intensified-after-african-gangs-claims

Jimma, N. (2020). South Sudanese refugees on the Challenges of Making a New Life in Australia. ABC Radio Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-12/meet-southsudanese-refugees-making-their-mark/12434498

Media Highlights. (2018). Refugee Gang Crisis in Melbourne Australia [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tseUeTGrXsU

O’Connor, R. (2017). Section Boyz: Daily Mail Article Used Image of South London Grime Crew for Story About Australian Gang Violence. Independent UK. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/section-boyz-daily-mail-articlephoto-australia-apex-gang-violence-a7556476.html

The Project (2018). Why Pollies Want You to Fear African Gangs. Network Ten. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://10play.com.au/theproject/recap/2020/why-pollies-want-you-to-fearafrican-gangs/tpv190915raskv

Wahlquist, C. (2018). ‘We’re not a gang’: the unfair stereotyping of African Australians. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/06/were-not-agang-the-pain-of-being-african-australian

Abur, W. (2018). Systematic Vilification and Racism Are Affecting on the South Sudanese Community in Australia. International Journal of Scientific Research. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/ gelua/Downloads/SystemVilificationandRaacismareaffecttingontheSouthSudanesCommunityinAustralia.pdf

Urszula Nowak, The Children Overboard Case - Gender, Race and Class

ABC. (2002). Children Overboard—4 Corners. In Four Corners.

Anderson, Z. (2012). Borders, Babies, and “Good Refugees”: Australian Representations of “Illegal” Immigration, 1979. Journal of Australian Studies, 36(4), 499–514. MLA International Bibliography.

Ang, S., & Colic-Peisker, V. (2022). Sinophobia in the Asian century: Race, nation and Othering in Australia and Singapore. 45(4), 419–514. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings.

Anthony Moran. (2005). White Australia, settler nationalism and Aboriginal assimilation. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 51(2), 168. Multicultural Australia and Immigration Studies.

BBC. (2022, April 23). How many Ukrainians have fled their homes and where have they gone? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472

Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, C. (2002). Chapter 3 - The Children Overboard; Incident: Events and Initial Report (Australia) [Text]. https://www.aph.gov.au/ Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Former_Committees/maritimeincident/report/c03

Gans, Herbert J. (n.d.). Chapter 10: Race as Class. In Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology: Vol. 9th Edition. Cengage Learning.

Karvelas, Patricia. (2002, August 24). Accused detainees demand apology—CHILDREN OVERBOARD VERDICT—Record details—EBSCO. https://discovery.ebsco.com/c/xppotz/ details/ix67hh32k5?limiters=FT1%3AY&q=%22children%20overboard%22%20AND%20 mother%2A%20AND%20australia%2A

Lasky, J. (2020). Stolen Generation. In Salem Press Encyclopedia. Salem Press; Research Starters. Macken-Horarik, M. (2003). Working the borders in racist discourse: The challenge of the ‘Children Overboard Affair’ in news media texts. Social Semiotics, 13(3), 283–303. https://doi. org/10.1080/1035033032000167024

Marx, Karl & Engels, Frederich. (1848). The Communist Manifesto. Penguin Classics 2010.

O’Donnell, M., Taplin, S., Marriott, R., Lima, F., & Stanley, F. J. (2019). Infant removals: The need to address the over-representation of Aboriginal infants and community concerns of another “stolen generation.” 90, 88–98. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings.

Ramsay, G. (2016). Black Mothers, Bad Mothers: African Refugee Women and the Governing of ‘Good’ Citizens Through the Australian Child Welfare System. Australian Feminist Studies, 31(89), 319–335.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08164649.2016.1254021

Said, Edward. (1979). Orientalism. Penguin Classics.

Tondo, L. (2022, March 4). Embraced or pushed back: On the Polish border, sadly, not all refugees are welcome. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ commentisfree/2022/mar/04/embraced-or-pushed-back-on-the-polish-border-sadly-not-allrefugees-are-welcome

UNHCR. (n.d.-a). Asylum-Seekers. UNHCR. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www. unhcr.org/asylum-seekers.html

UNHCR. (n.d.-b). What is a refugee? UNHCR. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www. unhcr.org/what-is-a-refugee.html

Zinn, M. B., Hondagneu-Sotelo, P., & Messner, M. (2016). Sex and Gender through the Prism of Difference. 9.

Freya Giles, The Role of Visual Images In The Construction and Negotiation of Identity in The Present

Bullingham, L., & Vasconcelos, A. C. (2013). ‘The Presentation of Self in the Online World’: Goffman and the Study of Online Identities. Journal of Information Science, 39(1), 101–112.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551512470051

Cantrell, S. J., Winters, R. M., Kaini, P., & Walker, B. N. (2022). Sonification of Emotion in

Social Media: Affect and Accessibility in Facebook Reactions. Proceedings of the ACM on HumanComputer Interaction, 6(CSCW1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3512966

Frosh, P. (2015). The Gestural Image: The Selfie, Photography Theory, and Kinesthetic Sociability . International Journal of Communication, 1607–1628.

Goffman, E. (1956). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday.

Hilsen, A. I., & Helvik, T. (2012). The Construction of Self in Social Medias, such as Facebook. AI & SOCIETY, 29(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-012-0426-y

Horst, H., & Miller, D. (2012). Normativity and Materiality: A View from Digital anthropology. Media International Australia, 145(1), 103–111.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1214500112

Leary, M. R. (2019). Self-Presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behavior. Routledge.

Raymond, C. (2021). Dreaming the Self: Selfie Practice, Temporality, and Artificial Intelligence. The Selfie, Temporality, and Contemporary Photography, 1–19. https://doi. org/10.4324/9780429319044-1

Serafinelli, E. (2017). Analysis of Photo Sharing and Visual Social Relationships: Instagram as a Case Study. Photographies, 10(1), 91–111.

https://doi.org/10.1080/17540763.2016.1258657

Subrahmanyam, K., & Šmahel, D. (2010). Constructing Identity Online: Identity Exploration and Self-Presentation. Digital Youth, 59–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419- 6278-2_4

van Dijck, J. (2008). Digital Photography: Communication, Identity, Memory. Visual Communication, 7(1), 57–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/147035720708

Urszula Nowak, Two Men Dancing and Depictions of Male Homosexuality

Adler, Amy. “The Shifting Law of Sexual Speech: Rethinking Robert Mapplethorpe.” University of Chicago Legal Forum 2020 (January 1, 2020): 1–44.

Arn, Jackson. “Are Robert Mapplethorpe’s Photographs Still Controversial?” Artsy, January 14, 2019. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-mapplethorpes-photographs-remainsubversive-shock-value.

Carolan, Nicholas. “The Perfect Timing of Robert Mapplethorpe’s ‘Perfect Medium.’” Grazia (blog), 2017. https://graziamagazine.com/articles/the-body-electric-robert-mapplethorpesperfect-medium/.

“Chiaroscuro.” In Salem Press Encyclopedia. Salem Press, September 30, 2021. Research Starters. Northcross, Wayne. “Mapplethorpe as Demon Seducer.” The Gay & Lesbian Review 7, no. 1 (January 1, 2000)

Image references for this essay

Mapplethorpe, Robert. Two Men Dancing. printed 1990 1984. Gelatin Silver Print, 48.5 x 38.6cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/robert-mapplethorpetwo-men-dancing.

Canova, Antonio. Wrestlers. 1775. Painted Terracotta, 39.5 x 34 x 20cm. Galleria dell’Accademia.

A LITTLE NOTE FROM EMILY:

I wanted to give an enormous thanks to everyone involved in making this journal possible. The Bulpadok wouldn’t have happened without the amazing work of Hayley, Chiara, Gonya and Urszula - thank you endlessly for the effort you put in over the past twelve months - I wish I could adequately put into words how grateful I am for your work. From the Bottom of my heart, you’re all so special, and I know you’ll go far.

Thank you too to everyone who submitted work, whether published in this edition or not - please continue to write, paint, and create art!

Thank you, too, for reading, I truly hope you enjoyed.

Love, Em, xoxo