Created as part of a collection of paintings for Art Month in 2013, and in response to an archival letter from the Chief Protector of the Aborigines, Dr Cecil E Cook, in 1933, which outlined his plan to eliminate the ‘hybrid coloured population’ by preventing intermarriage between Asians and Aborigines to ‘breed out the colour’.
White Wash now directly addresses the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia. Depicting a white nurse scrubbing Aboriginal children “clean”, it is a direct reminder of the institutionalised racism and subjugation of Indigenous Australia, and it reaffirms the long-held imperial belief that black is bad. And now our inner-city bars add another dimension, whispering of Australia’s shameful record of black deaths in custody.
Dimension: 2.1m x 1.8m
Medium: Mixed medium on canvas
Cost: POA
Contact: http://www.andreadavies.com
“I am primarily a visual artist, creating large scale art works as well as illustrations and designs for instillations that have had an international footprint. I regularly work as an illustrator/ designer for The Glue Society, most recently on the ANZ GAYNZ campaign, as well as Grave of Thrones. I also design illuminated costumes as one half of the performance troupe lagaleriemobile.com.
“For the last eight years l have been working closely with various services out at Yuendumu and all four Walpri communities in the Central Desert. I have designed, implemented and managed a series of art projects that centre on health and well being, age of consent and cyber bullying, as well as numerous projects around ‘Protective behaviour’ through PACE ,a project run out in communities in the Norther Territory that aim to create awareness across all age groups about social issues within the community. I have also worked with the youth program WYDAC on murals and art programs to activate a diverse age group as well as engaging large volumes of participants on each project. Most recently, l have designed a program of craft workshops with visual instructions to enable construction across language and reading difficulties using only recycled material, with the aim of engaging young people to facilitate their own workshops with confidence and environmental awareness.
Kaleidoscopic 