black AND white
ARTIST STATEMENT
In this year of reflection and reform, it’s hard to sit in the grey area. There is just black AND white.
In this collection of works I tell truth, reclaim story and share culture that has long been taken away from my Gadigal people.
We’ve been colonised not once, but twice.
Using only black AND white acrylic paint, with the timeless practice of ochre milling and incorporating my own natural pigment paints, I explore this very racially charged theme of being both black AND white in the year of The Voice.”
Black AND white is a celebration. A moment in time to pause, acknowledge and honour the Gadi; our customs, our adornment, the cicatrices and ochre markings present on our bodies and our grace. These paintings recognise our existence, a physical reference to our being and strength. By looking to the past, we determine our future.
They are joy!
Healing intergenerational trauma through reclamation and restoration of kinship connections are critical. Our people are hardwired for connection; isolation and rejection from community causes a grief that cannot be healed.
DYIN BANGADA didactic:
Gadigal women have some of the most beautiful jewellery and adornment recorded. This repeating pattern is my representation of the Gawulgung (Kangaroo) Dara( teeth) necklace that could also be worn as a chaplet around the forehead. These necklaces were most often only made from incisor teeth only, so would be a true labour of love to create given each Roo only had 2 incisor teeth and these Bangada could include up to fifty teeth.
