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WE CAN ALL SPEAK IN TONGUES
POLITIKANT//DARWIN VISUAL ARTS//26.06.2020

For the Pentecostal, speaking in tongues is a sign of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, evidence of one’s full immersion into the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of Christian life. As a practice it represents a boundary that articulates an inside and therefore an outside of the faith community. This boundary encompasses and excludes based on many varied practices, informed by particular interpretations of scripture.

Current national discourse around redefining the boundaries of religious freedom vis-a-vis anti-discrimination within Australian law has been driven largely by a Pentecostal world view. Political leadership has determined the importance of these discussions as paramount. This work seeks to contribute to the discussion through an interrogation of the porousness of the boundaries against which discrimination seeks its justification.

I was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ at the age of 11 and subsequently can speak in tongues. Although I left the church at 22, I have managed to retain the 'gift' of speaking in tongues. Perhaps it was for this very moment in our national history when our political leaders need us to speak in a mode they can relate to and in a language they can understand.

I acknowledge The Larrakia People who are the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of this land and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty of Country was never ceded.