ABSTRACT

This article examines the ceramic artwork produced in the 1940s and 1950s by Viola Edith Downing, also known as Brownie Downing. I focus specifically on representations of Australian Aboriginal children, and also consider how Native American and Native Hawaiian children are portrayed on ceramic plates. These plates were purchased for display in the home often as tourist souvenirs that marked the holiday experience. I argue that representations of Indigenous children function discursively within a gendered white colonising possessive aesthetic whereby childhood innocence and happiness operate to erase colonisation and indigenous sovereignties.

摘要

本文考察了 Viola Edith Downing（也称为 Brownie Downing）在 1940 和 1950 年代制作的陶瓷艺术品。我特别关注澳大利亚原住民儿童的表现，并考虑如何在陶瓷板上描绘美洲原住民和夏威夷原住民儿童。这些盘子是购买在家中展示的，通常作为标志着假期体验的旅游纪念品。我认为，土著儿童的表现在一种性别化的白人殖民占有美学中以话语方式发挥作用，童年的纯真和幸福可以消除殖民和土著主权。