An episode of The Block has sparked backlash from viewers, with stars Ricky and Haydn accused of ‘cultural appropriation.’
Angry viewers slammed the duo’s ‘Indigenous-style design’ which featured on the show on Sept. 24..
The five teams were tasked with designing artwork for a surfboard to be displayed in their homes and, to many viewers’ shock, Ricky and Haydn unveiled a piece adorned with markings that appeared to be influenced by Indigenous artwork.
Sensing a potential backlash on the show, Ricky was recorded saying, “I hope they’re not offensive to the culture if it’s that bad. But hopefully they’ll see the inspiration that we’ve drawn from it.”
He explained they were inspired by a piece of art called Saltwater Dreamtime by Indigenous artist Zachary Bennett-Brook.
But, given neither of the boys publicly identify as First Nations people, the response has been critical of both Ricky and Haydn and Channel 9 for allowing the segment to air.
“Does channel 9 have anyone with cultural competency training on staff? How on earth did this go to air?” said one angry fan online.
“Extremely disappointing no one in production stepped to let Ricky and Haydn know that replicating Indigenous art is inappropriate and cultural appropriation,” another wrote.
Even judge, Darren Palmer seemed taken aback when he first saw the artwork on the show.
“This is very orange and it’s also got some tones of Indigenous art to it, so that’s interesting,” Palmer said in the episode.
Struggling to find words, he continued: “Yeah it’s a lot.”
The patterns and dot work that make up Aboriginal artwork mean something and are part of stories passed down through many generations.
“A non-Indigenous Australian (or any non Aboriginal person around the world) can never create an Aboriginal artwork because only people from specific parts of country can tell the story of that country. They are the only ones with authority to do so,” Jessica Staines, a Wiradjuri woman and educator explained on her website.
Following the public outcry Channel 9 issued a response.
“Ricky and Haydn reached out to a traditional owner of the land who guided them on the protocols around interpreting Indigenous art,” a spokesperson said.
“The artwork was inspired by, but never intended to be a mimic of an original Indigenous artwork.”
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