Michael Cook, The Mission (Typical Aboriginal Picaninny), 2011. Inkjet print, 124 x 100cm. Tweed Regional Gallery Collection. Donated by the artist through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2016. Courtesy: the artist and Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.

The Mission by Michael Cook traces the journey of an Aboriginal woman from her homeland to a Christian mission where she arrives in handcuffs. There, she is introduced to Western clothing, food rations, tobacco, and a husband. Her baby is stolen following a Christian wedding. In the final image she is represented returning to her Country, which the artist says is a symbol of ‘the hope for a future in which the resilience and dreams of Aboriginal people remain unbroken against the odds.