Kait James helps to identify the red flags of our history

Kait James: Red Flags is now showing at Ararat Gallery TAMA.

Kait James is an identity that many in the art world are across. For the observer, they may not know the name but they sure know the art work. James was a pivotal artist involved in the redevelopment of Geelong’s premier theatre and arts organisation, Geelong Arts Centre. Her bold works are plastered on the exterior of the building, decorated across 193-panels presenting Indigenous perspectives through pop-cultural references. The use of Aboriginal Souvenir Tea Towels from the 1970’s and 1980’s tell the story of the generalised and stereotypical gaze of her culture, a story that she aims to untell.

Kait James: Red Flags

When: Sat 2 Aug – Sun 16 Nov

Where: Ararat Gallery TAMA

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As a proud Wadawurrung Woman, Kait James continually pushes the bounds of expression, ensuring that her messages about the shaping of Indigenous identity and culture are loud and clear. Her practice has been developed since 2018, working in the same visual vein with upcoming exhibition Kait James: Red Flags being no different, continuing her mission to highlight the insensitivities threaded throughout history.

“My work shows a tension between nostalgia and truth, so I’ve used a lot of everyday objects and souvenirs and things like that to hopefully help people think about how history has been sent to us and how national identity is being shaped. The works often make sense of truth and cultural respect,” James explains.

Her practice is embedded in the redesign and reappropriation of racialised products, namely souvenirs and commercial objects. An in-demand product trend across the 1950’s through to the 1980’s, these consumables, which are now colloquially labelled ‘Aboriginalia’, were popularised to drive tourist spending. The items included souvenir tea towels, pennant flags, children’s dolls and ceramic figurines, all featuring racially stereotyped imagery, designs and motifs. 

 

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James takes back the narrative in a subversive rendering of truth telling, embroidering over these products with language and imagery to highlight the insensitivities and reclaim her history. Notable messages from political campaigns, debates and other cultural references weave their way into James’ work along with a bunch of red flags.

“The name red flags, I mean it’s literal. Each object shows red flags on it, the ceramics have red flags, the toilet roll dolls are holding red flags – it’s a warning sign that something is not right. I use it to show the viewer that they should reconsider what they’ve grown up with and the objects that they have seen in homes or the souvenirs, and how they played a part in shaping out an identity. These objects are not a fun or humorous portrayal of our culture – they are offensive and have done significant damage to the telling of our stories.”

An original commission for Warrnambool Art Gallery as curated by Aaron Bradbrook, Kait James: Red Flags received support from NETS Victoria to tour the work to other cities. To centralise the story in each location, James has incorporated specific site -responsive pieces to the exhibition. For her upcoming exhibition at Ararat Gallery TAMA, James reflected on the very public history versus highway case. In 2018, VicRoad plans for the Western Highway identified the removal of 3000 trees along a highway-duplication route, which extended 12.5 kilometres from Ararat to Buangor. This included an 800 year old tree significant to Djabwurrung Aboriginal women.

“I have tried to tie in site-specific references to ensure that locals can relate to the stories I tell. The highway was such a significant protest in Ararat for people and for country, and what, to shave off three minutes of travel? It was another way to erase the Indigenous history.” 

In James’ signature style each item is depicted with wry humour whilst speaking to serious matters of cultural insensitivity. She also incorporates bold, bright colours into her pieces to draw attention but also feel more approachable to the viewer.

 

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“The colour palette allows for people to spending a little bit more time with work to see what it’s actually about because if I used really dark colors or something, maybe people would look at it less and not sort of spend time on it, or feel that it’s being aggressive when that’s not the intention,” she explains. 

“I want them to see something else in the work, I want them to see the message in the work but also I don’t want to force it down their throats. Just a level of understanding so that we can begin to reclaim our history.”

Kait James: Red Flags is a free exhibition running from Saturday 2 August until Sunday 16 November 2025 at textile museum, Ararat Gallery TAMA.

Find out more about the exhibition here.