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GORDON BENNETT CASE STUDY Artist Gordon Bennett is a young urban Aboriginal painter that is emerging as a leading Australian artist. Gordon was born in Monto, Queensland in 1955. He was the son of an aboriginal mother and an English father. Gordon had been brought up as a part of the white community and had no knowledge of his aboriginal origins until he was eleven years old. Gordon saw himself as European for many years and he didn’t mind except it was damaging in a sense that he was ashamed to be aboriginal. Being brought up as a white Australian he had built a conceptual barrier between himself and other people who were of aboriginal background but eventually that barrier collapsed and at a young age Gordon was forced to juggle between his European but also his aboriginal culture. These two cultures, of course, did not mix. He was labelled as ‘boong, coon, and darkie’ and bridging the two cultures was so difficult that he left school at the age of fifteen and became an apprentice fitter and turner. He married Leanne in 1977 and they had spent 19 years together. When Leanne met Gordon she was aware that he was aboriginal but fortunately for her it was not an issue. Gordon also worked for Telecom for eleven years whic