Aboriginal people of my vintage grew up surrounded by Aboriginalia in the form of kitsch everyday objects, often depicting racist stereotypes that showed what Australia thought about us.

From wall hangings to tea-towels, to drink coasters and ashtrays, they were ever present. Later, when they began to be regarded as cringe-worthy, they were relegated to the op-shops frequented by a young Tony Albert.

The Girrimay, Kuku Yilanji, Yidinji artist describes his early fascination with these objects: complex, tangible reminders of racism. By incorporating them into his work, he reframes them within an immutable Blak presence — one that has informed his decades-long practice.

When you first enter Albert’s exhibition, Not a Souvenir, showing at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, you are met with a wall of Aboriginalia reminiscent of the domestic display for which many were originally created.

Accompanying this wall is a glass display, resembling a colonial museum exhibit, that features a further assemblage of items. The sheer volume, variety, and span of time this vast assemblage represents is intentionally arresting. It’s a reminder of how diverse the public’s fascination with Aboriginalia once was.

In an earlier age, these objects reduced Aboriginal people to curios of utility and stereotype. But Albert presents them with care and consideration, treating them like an........

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