Artist statement

Indigenous people have been resisting since the moment the ships arrived, standing strong against massacres, land-theft, disease and racism. This work is about the persecution of the First Nations cultures across all of Australia and resistance throughout time. It uses the personal and cultural contexts to communicate a contemporary issue.

The portrait on each side of the door depicts the same AI generated image of an Elder warrior spirit, representative of all First Nations, overseeing resistance using different tools, from spears and shields to words and political protest. The images of resistance during early colonisation are black and white, while those of modern resistance are in colour to reflect the passage of time.

The act of opening and walking through a door shows how First Nations resistance began and continues 

Process

I started the process of making this artwork by sanding the door and applying a base coat of paint to each side. I then pasted images onto the panels on the bottom half of each side of the door and used a brush to paint coffee mixture over the images on the white side. Next, I created a two-piece stencil of the Elder and applied it to the door, then used black and white spray paint over the stencil to create a sharp image on both sides. Finally, I carefully removed the stencil and used a heated engraving tool to add a tally for the number of years since colonisation.

About the artist

I started the process of making this artwork by sanding the door and applying a base coat of paint to each side. I then pasted images onto the panels on the bottom half of each side of the door and used a brush to paint coffee mixture over the images on the white side. Next, I created a two-piece stencil of the Elder and applied it to the door, then used black and white spray paint over the stencil to create a sharp image on both sides. Finally, I carefully removed the stencil and used a heated engraving tool to add a tally for the number of years since colonisation.