Since 2018, Wadawurrung artist Kait James has been developing a distinctive visual language built on the reappropriation of racialised products. Known colloquially as ‘Aboriginalia’, these mass-produced commercial objects range from souvenir tea towels and pennant flags to children’s dolls and ceramic figurines.
Primarily created during the 1950s through to the 1980s for non-Indigenous tourists, these items depict culturally insensitive and racially stereotyped imagery. Now, James has transformed them into something else entirely.
Her major touring exhibition Kait James: Red Flags arrives at Flinders University Museum of Art this October, presenting tea towels, screen prints, large-scale fabric collages, ceramic wall figurines and felt pennant flags that each represent their own ‘Red Flags’ based on iconography, both known and unknown.
“This has been an experience,” James says of creating the works. “I’ve explored Creation stories, contentious icons of Australia, political pathways, languages lost and found and have uncovered underlying truths of travelling and visiting Country for tourism without knowledge. My new works are to be studied by the visitor and I encourage a second look at each one, as an invitation to dive deeper into culture, Country and conversation.”
A practice of subversion
Represented by Neon Parc, James has built her career on political commentary and pop culture references, exemplified through her textile practice of embroidery, found imagery and the reinterpretation of language. Her work combines autobiography, incisive analysis and wry humour, revealing a deep reverence for her culture alongside a glimpse into a shared Aboriginal-Australian experience.
Aaron Bradbrook, Warrnambool Art Gallery Director and Curator of the exhibition, describes the collection as “an important recording of Australia’s cultural and political history” that also adds present-day commentary for contemporary audiences.
“This expansive and hyper-coloured exhibition presents audiences with an opportunity to delve deeper into Australia’s contentious political history,” Bradbrook says. “Kait’s playful yet sophisticated deployment of colour and humour penetrates the human consciousness like a warm knife through butter.”
FUMA Director Fiona Salmon says the museum is committed to presenting exhibitions that spark curiosity and inspire meaningful dialogue. “Kait James: Red Flags does exactly this, using humour and artistic ingenuity to explore complex questions about culture, history and belonging.”
Exhibition details
Kait James: Red Flags
6 October – 27 November 2026
Flinders University Museum of Art, Bedford Park Campus
Exhibition launch: Tuesday 13 October, 5.30–7pm (formalities from 6pm). Tickets available via Eventbrite.
Kait James: Red Flags is a Warrnambool Art Gallery exhibition, curated by Aaron Bradbrook and touring nationally with NETS Victoria. This project has been supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia and the Visions of Australia program, as well as receiving development assistance from NETS Victoria’s Exhibition Development Fund, supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
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