Catherine Kingsmill
Long Memory

bones, buttons, coal dust, feathers, glass, leather, oyster shells, seeds, sticks and timber on plywood.
150 x 120 cm

The template for this wall sculpture is that of an EORA child’s possum skin cloak. The surface of the work is encrusted with a variety of mostly natural items which would have been found along the Cooks River from pre-colonisation until present day. This adornment includes bones, buttons, coal dust, feathers, glass, leather, oyster shells, seeds, sticks and timber: reading like an archaeological dig to reflect the First Nation heritage and diversity of subsequent cultures who have inhabited the area since First Contact within the overriding shadow of an Aboriginal child. Through the small elements of this work, I hope to suggest that the wunderkammer of the local environment and society can be viewed through an alternative window. By reinterpreting and re-presenting the historic artefact, the relevance of the historic as well as the resurgence of the contemporary Cooks River environment and community can be reassessed and reaffirmed.