Repatriating love to our ancestors

This chapter considers the work of the Unbound Collective as it relates to repatriation. Bound and Unbound is a series of performances and exhibitions in which we explore complex ideas of being both bound and free; what we are bound to historically and, as sovereign people, what we choose to (un)bind ourselves to and from, both now and into the future. Our work engages Aboriginal community members who have historically been contained and excluded within and beyond the boundaries of Adelaide’s so-called ‘cultural precinct’ which contains the museum, state library, and part of the state archives. When our ancestors’ voices are heard and listened to, this compels a call and response engagement with the broader Aboriginal community. We can all speak back through individual and collective Sovereign Acts. As a collective, we use critical-creative praxis to collaboratively engage with and transform colonial representations, records and ideas that continue to haunt, oppress and shape Indigenous lives. We use film, song, poetry, performance, and theory to create a safe space for our engagement with traumatic and horrific histories, stories, and experiences of our ancestors. This chapter describes our work.