No more white bread and roses

After participating in the Invasion Day rally of 2018,  I was ashamed to be an Australian, with our national reluctance to give indigenous people a proper voice (as enshrined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart which calls for a First Nation voice in the Constitution), to learn about relationship with and care for land, to improve the life expectancy of indigenous Australians, about our obsession with all things European.  

Bread for all and roses too is a refrain that has been historically used (in the Union and women’s suffrage movements) as a metaphor for people’s right to bread (home, shelter and security), roses (music, education and books) and a voice. My material, barbed wire is commonly used to create fences around land and claim ownership. It is my hope is that this piece will encourage people to consider the importance of supporting indigenous Australians to determine their own future.

Inspired by creative beautiful objects which have been fashioned or woven from natural fibres for centuries and often by women. It is part of the Useless Beauty series. Fashioned from mild steel and barbed wire. It is designed to be located outside.

450 (high) x 350 (wide)x 750 (long)