Thea Anamara Perkins: Dreaming: N.Smith Gallery

'These works continue my delving into family archives. One of the main drivers for me is taking charge of representation, I saw a lot of misrepresentation and misinformation of Aboriginal families growing up. To me this was refuting this often sensationalised representation with what I know to be true with my own family, and our wider community. I came across a term used in psychology a ‘glimmer’ which is the opposite of a trigger and an instance of belonging and safety which I think these images seek to express. I chose to appropriate a western vernacular of painting so that it would speak to the collective imagination in this country.

These works extend this study, but take it into a further new direction in looking at sisters. I think a large part of my practice is a philosophical study. Aboriginal belief systems have many stories or ‘Dreamings’ featuring multiples of sisters. I think this is a fascinating reflection of our culture to have these strong female and family narratives so centred. The other interesting element of the ‘Dreamtime’ is that it is atemporal - things that happened millennia ago are happening alongside what is happening now. It’s a stacked notion of time - it’s not only creation stories - our contemporary experience and everything in between are a part of this inventive, dynamic meld. This adaptiveness is tied to our survival.

I like to follow my intuition when arriving at images or moments - this suite of portraits is unique in that I am very present in the images I was drawn to, and I think there’s an interesting delve into my self and my memories.'

Dreaming by Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist, Thea Anamara Perkins tells a story of a life. Fragments of images and footage invite you to dissect every deliberate brush stroke until it melds together to create a moment. This particular body of works create an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that feels so real, you want to touch it, to climb into it. It speaks directly to the theme of sisters because so much like the love of a sister, the artworks create a safe space, dripped in life and love, like a warm, all encasing hug. 

Aboriginal way, a sister isn’t just someone you share parents with, it’s a much deeper connection and obligation to the women in your life, whether that be your cousins, friends, mothers, aunties and nanas. This ancient kinship works to create important cultural roles and responsibilities within your family, language groups and wider community, because of this, the intrinsic role of sister is venerated. 

The works force you to look inward and reflect on your own self, to insert yourself into a memory that’s not your own but evokes enough familiarity that it feels like it should be. It invites you into these private moments on a very human level. As an observer you’re offered a seat in the living room while the TV runs in the background, given the view of someone’s baby peacefully tucked beneath a patch-work blanket, or you’re there to witness the first time a big sister gets to hold her little sister. The joys of childhood and the evidence of time is omnipresent throughout the works, from the delicate colour palettes to the photographic style of painting. 

There’s also a strong sense of self entwined within each of Perkins’ pieces, a proudness to know who she is and where she’s come from: a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and beyond; an elaborate history that dates back to when creation stories were first lived and passed on by Aboriginal people. 

For so long, the Aboriginal experience has been made out to be a spectacle, something for a Western audience to watch from a safe distance, desperate to pick apart by the bit. Despite every attempt to reduce Aboriginal existence down to this one-dimensional narrative, Dreaming encapsulates a raw depiction of Perkins’ own Aboriginal family, not tinted by a Western lens; unfiltered. It abolishes any stereotype that puts an Aboriginal way of life into a box that doesn’t fit.