Art world mourns death of Aboriginal artist and activist - ABC News

Two Works is part of the Who's Afraid of Colour exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.(Supplied: NGV)

The art world is mourning the death of a trailblazing contemporary Aboriginal Australian artist.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of a person who has died.

Melbourne-based artist Destiny Deacon worked across photography, video, sculpture and installation.

Her work centred around dolls playing out scenes, subverting cultural dominance to reflect and parody the environments around us.

Born in Maryborough, Queensland, in 1957, Deacon studied politics and education before going on to work as a teacher and then a staff trainer for Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins.

Deacon turned to photography in her 30s and began making videos featuring well-known people from the Melbourne Koori community.

Her work was political and provocative.

Arrears Windows, from 2009.(Supplied: National Gallery of Victoria)

Her friend, Indigenous academic Marcia Langton, told the ABC she was a giant of contemporary art.

"She was a superstar in the art scene in Australia," Professor Langton said.

"Her work will remain the standard for political art, for witty, cut-through, black, urban art. Her work was feminist and intersectional, free of heteronormative restrictions."

Deacon's work examines the discrepancies between representations of Aboriginal people by the white Australian population and the reality of Aboriginal life.

Being There, from 1998. ( Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery )

Roslyn Oxley, a gallerist currently showing Deacon's work, told RN Breakfast the artist's mind was always thinking in two ways.

"There's always two meanings to her work, the image says one thing, and the title says another," she said.

"She always maintained that she invented the word 'Blak' for black.

"She was hugely smart in the way she saw herself, she was a really interesting artist, sometimes very naughty."

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA1LTI0L2Fib3JpZ2luYWwtYXJ0aXN0LWRlc3RpbnktZGVhY29uLWRpZXMvMTAzODg4Mjc20gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMzg4ODI3Ng?oc=5

2024-05-24 01:25:26Z
CBMiVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA1LTI0L2Fib3JpZ2luYWwtYXJ0aXN0LWRlc3RpbnktZGVhY29uLWRpZXMvMTAzODg4Mjc20gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMzg4ODI3Ng

Bagikan Berita Ini