Tony Albert, a Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku-Yalanji artist, has spent his life collecting Aboriginalia—kitsch household items from the mid-20th century that feature naive or racist depictions of Indigenous culture. These objects, including ashtrays, velvet paintings, and figurines, form the basis of his upcoming exhibition *Tony Albert: Not A Souvenir* at the Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Bruce Johnson McClean. Albert's practice transforms these mass-produced artifacts into a powerful critique of colonization, displacement, and erasure.
This exhibition matters because it reclaims Indigenous identity from external control, as curator Bruce Johnson McClean notes, asserting that Indigenous people should define their own representation. Albert's work challenges viewers to confront the uncomfortable legacy of racist kitsch and its cultural impact, turning objects with no monetary value into tools for societal reflection. It highlights how personal collecting can evolve into a radical artistic and political statement.