Art guru David Walsh ‘doesn’t get’ Aboriginal culture

DAVID Walsh has developed an almost messianic following in his native Hobart, but the local indigenous community is far less impressed.

Heather Sculthorpe, of The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, with the Museum of Old and New Art in the background. Picture: Peter Mathew

DAVID Walsh has developed an almost Messianic following in his native Hobart — an irony given his firm atheism — but the local indigenous community is less than impressed.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre yesterday claimed the professional gambler and art guru simply “doesn’t get” Aboriginal culture and had repeatedly ­offended the state’s indigenous community.

TAC chief executive Heather Sculthorpe told The Australian that an exhibit at Walsh’s ­Museum of Old and New Art — offering DNA testing for people to find out if they were Aborigines — was just the latest offence.

Walsh, who has defended MONA works offensive to some Christians, has responded to the backlash over the DNA exhibit with surprising self-censorship, pulling it from show.

The wealthy entrepreneur used his blog to apologise to the Aboriginal community for the work, part of a wider exhibit by Swiss artist Christoph Buchel.

Rather than defend the artist’s right to offend, Walsh accused Buchel of being a hypocrite in ­parodying utopians who seek an end regardless of the means “while taking the same view”.

“He knows what he wants, and while he pursues his goals he doesn’t care what the consequences are for others,” Walsh says. “We do.”

“We will engage with affected individuals and redress the situation. If Christoph fails to approve our action he will have the right to legal process … We’re sorry we pissed some people off.”

However, the apology fell short of expectations at the TAC.

“The apology is not much of an apology — it seems to be more having a go at the artist, rather than showing that David Walsh himself has any understanding of what the issues are,” said Ms Sculthorpe. “He still doesn’t get it: that his people should be talking to us as community representatives before he gets into these things. It was obviously going to be provocative to be talking about DNA testing.”

Groups such as the TAC have fought bitter battles to stop ­museums conducting DNA tests on the remains of their ancestors, while suggestions DNA testing be used to establish Aboriginality have outraged some Aborigines.

Walsh declined to respond, but in his defence it should be pointed out that he risks legal action from Buchel in having the DNA testing stall removed from the artist’s “Southdale/C’Mona” exhibition.

Walsh has also hired Aboriginal artists and written in praise of Tasmania’s “40,000 years of ­cultural heritage”.