The Story So Far …

The ‘HSFG’ shrine is said to be a tribute to Aboriginal people and to acknowledge their search for God. The shrine is an example of ‘installation’ art, comprising seven panels and their surrounds. The surrounds also include stonework comprising subtly outlined figures of a kind readily recognizable to those familiar with Aboriginal rock art. The shrine is the work of well known Koori ‘Fraser Island/urban’ artist and sculptor Ms Fiona Foley. There is every indication that the work is as fully and authentically Aboriginal as it is possible to be. The art also speaks to a white audience familiar with ‘conceptual’ or ‘idea’ art and the technique of ‘bricolage’. In both its Aboriginal and in its western dimensions, this is art which is meant to be read. The key to ‘reading’ the art is an understanding of the symbols and representations contained in the shrine – the ‘visual language’ which Ms Foley uses in her art.

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This issue of NFTP details two more of the word plays coded into the St Stephen’s Cathedral ‘HSFG’ shrine. The first is a (crude and offensive) word of four letters. The second has seven letters.

In his book Understanding Aboriginal Culture, Cyril Havecker wrote,

"It ought to be remembered that in true pictograph it is very difficult to convey abstract ideas of any kind. Its use is therefore quite limited. But where there is also a spoken language, it is but a step .. to unite the picture of the object as a representation … The picture is a phonetic sign. Just as the ancient Egyptians used phonetic signs in writing (hieroglyphics), so do the Aborigines use them in bark paintings, particularly where sacred work is concerned. The average white person finds them difficult to understand."

As we will see, the pictograph technique can also play to western audiences, for example, to devotees of western occult art. In this connection, readers will recall that NFTP No. 7 provided details concerning the occultist Aleister Crowley and how his ‘function of 4’ symbolism had been coded into the shrine.

Panels 1, 2 & 7 are rectangular. The four square female fertility panels are numbers 3, 4, 5, & 6.

The four female fertility panels may be read as follows:

• In panel 4, it is readily apparent that the pipi shells and leaves form a ‘U’ shape.

• Panel 5 is a "sea" scene. Phonetically: ‘C’.

• Panels 3 & 6 bear reference to the artist’s experiences in the Northern Territory. Respectively: ‘N’ and ‘T’.

This yields:

It takes little imagination to see the word these four letters form. From the information contained in previous issues, again it takes little imagination to recognize this word as yet another reference to the ‘racially disregarded’ Eliza Fraser.

Characteristically, the word also bears still another ‘function of 4/4 letter’ reference. In Crowley’s Qabalistic code book Gematria, he writes of "number 4" as "the terrible number of Tetragrammaton, the great enemy". The Oxford Dictionary says of "Tetragrammaton" that it is "the Hebrew name of God transliterated in four letters as YHWH or JHVH, often regarded as ineffable and treated as a mysterious symbol of (the name of) God. Also, any (symbolic) word of four letters." For Crowley enthusiasts, then, the above word serves also as a coded reference to God Himself. A private joke, if you like, for the amusement of an occult and art-house ‘in crowd’.

• Panel 1, as outlined in NFTP No. 6 signifies Eliza Fraser: ‘E’.

• Panel 2, as outlined in NFTP 6, represents the Rainbow/Rainbow Serpent: ‘R’.

• Panel 3, for the purposes of this particular reading represents the leaves depicted in the panel: ‘L’

• Panel 4, as above, is the ‘U’ shape: ‘U’.

• Panel 5, as above, is the ’sea’ scene, phonetically: ‘C’.

• Panel 6, for the purposes of this particular reading, from the fish bone, represents a distinct ‘i’ shape: ‘i’.

• Panel 7 represents the ancestors and the land title claim over Fraser Island: ‘F’.

Starting with the ‘female fertility’ panel 3, the word play yields:

It may not surprise readers to know that among the other things Aleister Crowley was famous for was his Hymn To Lucifer. Note also that both the word plays presented in this issue are derived from panels which are themselves configured very precisely – as to their number, structure and placement – in such a fashion as to present not merely sole but inter-weaved Crowleyesque ‘functions of four’, (as set out in NFTP 7).

One can only wonder what the odds are against these sorts of coded readings being mere coincidence? Whatever the odds, they would be very long indeed. Objectively speaking, it can be said that it is close to a statistical certainty that the ‘L_u_c_I_f_e_r’ reading and the various other coded meanings were part of a design intent.

Note also that the artist makes no secret of the fact that she uses a "visual language", symbolism and hidden "inner" meanings in her art. The official 1989 St Stephen’s book refers to the shrine’s "highly complex and diverse systems of meaning". It is not a matter of denying the hidden meanings. The Church itself indicates they are there.

The least that can be said is that St Stephen’s Cathedral contains a shrine that yields hidden and problematic readings. These include reference to the artist’s work elsewhere, ‘fist in the face’ connotations and correlations with known, published occult sources. Further, these hidden meanings emerge via the guise of Aboriginality.

Among the few things Church authorities have said is that the shrine is a tribute to Aboriginal people and that it acknowledges their search for God. Your Grace:

1. What is the Church’s current position?

2. Does this shrine do anything for Aboriginal people or for reconciliation?

3. What explanations are you being given?

Tim Pemble-Smith
3 – 111 Central Avenue
Indooroopilly Q 4068
after hours: (07) 3871 2047