‘I f***ed up’: Artist apologises to Indigenous groups over ‘true blue’ outrage

An internationally-renowned Brisbane artist has apologised after an exhibition inspired by the Aussie lingo was criticised for not representing Indigenous groups.

An internationally-acclaimed Brisbane artist has publicly apologised after an art exhibition inspired by Australian lingo was heavily criticised for not representing Indigenous groups.

CJ Hendry’s hyper realistic art has sold for millions around the world and the young artist has spent this month on her “STRAYA” exhibition which involved erecting signs with words including “true blue” and “pluggers” across the Australian landscape.

Artist CJ Hendry. Picture: Paola Murray

But Hendry has now taken to social media to apologise to her 565,000 followers and clarify her intention for the exhibition after she was accused of installing signs on Indigenous Country without having consultation or consent from the traditional owners.

She had turned off comments on several Instagram posts featuring the signs in the Australian landscape after the backlash.

One of CJ Hendry’s signs from her latest exhibition.

“I wanted to acknowledge the place I call home, to inject some joy after a globally shitty year, in the only way I know how; with art, tongue-in-cheek humour and our quintessential Aussie vernacular,” she said.

“I want to express my sincere apologies to those that I have offended, this was never my intent.”

The artist said she was not born in Australia, but had lived in Brisbane from a young age and was “deeply proud to call Australia home”.

One of CJ Hendry’s signs from her latest exhibition.

“I have been guided by the criticism and engaged an Indigenous cultural expert to ensure that I continue to grow and learn.”

“I am aware and respectful to the traditional custodians of the land and have the deepest respect for this country who has the world’s oldest living culture for more than 60,000 years.”

“I f***** up and for that I am really sorry.”

One of CJ Hendry’s signs from her latest exhibition.

Ms Hendry’s exhibition featured her collection of drawings as well as an interactive element.

Attendees wore their “pluggers” on the yellow exhibition’s sand pit floor with several dogs attending the event across the weekend.

The exhibition has had 15,000 attendees over the weekend, with Hendry to donate all gold coin donations from the exhibition to the Australian Cultural Fund - a fundraising platform for artists.