SOMA Magazine SOMA Film and Music Issue Aug 15 | Page 52

Feature

I Am Eleni
TexT by eLLeN georgiou

Australian artist Helen Andronis Ibrahim – who uses her Greek
name, Eleni, to sign her art – travels among Indigenous people
in Australia and the Native American Hopi in Arizona to pursue
an art that is a reflection of what it means to be connected to
this earth and also a narrative of her personal journey. Ibrahim
says she has always had a connection to all Indigenous cultures
especially when she’s painting.
In 2011 she painted an iconic image of an Aboriginal Elder
who died in May 2015. His first name cannot be mentioned or
written down during the mourning period as Aboriginal tradition dictates that a dead person’s name cannot be said as this
would recall or disturb their spirit.
Ibrahim refers to him as “Uncle” and, while many cannot say
his name, her extraordinary portrait, which she named “I AM”,
captures a voice and spirit that cannot be silenced. Soil, bark,
feathers, sticks, charcoal, and acrylic paint are mixed together
to compliment the balance of earth tones and vibrant hues.
Between the 1800s and 1970, many Indigenous children in
Australia were forcibly removed from their families as a result
of various government policies -- most of them based on the
ideology of assimilation. They became known as the Stolen
Generations. These actions left a legacy of trauma and loss that
continues to affect Indigenous communities and individuals
today. The subject of “I AM” was one of those children.
Ibrahim’s earth-to-canvas technique captures the voice of
Australia’s Stolen Generation, none more than “I AM.” The portrait has been celebrated by galleries in Australia and New York