Kait James is a proud Wadawurrung artist whose work challenges Indigenous culture stereotypes through her Indigenous and Anglo heritage.
James has been practicing as a professional artist since 2018 and in that time has mounted solo exhibitions at Art Gallery of Ballarat, Geelong Gallery, Neon Parc and Koorie Heritage Trust, in addition to public art projects in Victoria of various scales. In 2019, she was the winner of Craft Victoria’s Emerging Artist Award and the Koorie Art Show’s Reconciliation award. Her work has been collected by the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Geelong Gallery, Koorie Heritage Trust, Epworth Hospital Collection, Monash University Museum of Art, Murdoch University, Perth, Artbank and various other private and public collections.
Predominantly working with textiles, James’s work combines fabric collage, embroidery, rug tufting techniques, and incorporating ‘Aboriginalia’, which generalises and stereotypes Indigenous culture. By combining these kitsch ‘souvenirs’—that diminish and homogenise Aboriginal identity—with pop-cultural and political references, subverting colonial conceptions and questioning the collective lack of knowledge of Indigenous culture in Australian society.
While creating works that are potent and politically charged, James endeavours to navigate injustices with optimism and humour, ultimately speaking of hope, resilience, and self-determination.