Lin Onus's Cultural Identity Seen in Fruit Bats 1991

Lin Onus was born in Melbourne in 1948. He became a professional artist in the year of 1974, throughout his artistic life he became a exceedingly creative artist and arts administrator. From the very beginning of his days he was portrayed as an ideal Australian, his cultural identity was clear. As he was born to an aboriginal father and a white mother, he was a living example of the conception that two people, even from different cultures, different upbringings and beliefs could come together as one. Two examples of artworks that demonstrate his cultural identity are: “Fruit Bats” (1991) and

Fruit Bats 1991 is a work that shows a combination of the two cultures that make Lin Onus. This work visually shows the two societies slowly combining. the main aspect of the artwork that shows the western cultures identity would be the hills hoist clothesline which is what the bats are hanging from. The Aboriginal aspects of this work that suggest the combining of the two different cultures are those such as the aboriginal symbol for bat droppings (Arnhem) which is in fact is made from the droppings from the bats hanging in this work. Another aboriginal characteristic of this work is that all ninety-nine fibreglass fruit bats have been painted with a type of Aboriginal pattering called ‘rarrk’.
Not only do the traditional techniques used for the fruit bat droppings and patterns on each bat contrast with the current materials of today, they also contrast with the modern inspiration of these installations. The main characters in the work are the fruit bats these are presented as the link between the two cultures within one land. The droppings from these fruit bats could be interpreted to say the aboriginal culture is marking their territory. The fruit bats can therefore be seen to symbolise the will to repossess the land that rightfully belongs to the aboriginal