Danie Mellor, A question of being, 2020. Acrylic and oil on linen with gesso and iridescent wash, framed 157.5 x 115cm. Courtesy: the artist and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

The defiant pose of the warrior in A question of being and his direct albeit obscured gaze, presents a moment frozen literally and figuratively in time. This warrior, decorated for ceremony, references images of a man who appears in photographs attributed to Walter Roth and was shared with Danie Mellor by a rainforest elder. The original intention of many photographs and images from this period was to record and preserve the memory of a people seen to be facing insurmountable social and cultural changes in the face of colonisation. Historic loss of access to traditional country in tandem with the erosion of language and in many cases familial ties, meant that life as people had known it was irrevocably changed.

The exhibition can only be viewed online. View the exhibition here.

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