Boorloo giyaldhaany

Boorloo giyaldhaany
2026
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 90cm

Boorloo (Perth) was the choice for my Wynne Prize entry this
year. The choice was made for me as the site of a terrorist act on
January 26th 2026 when a non-first nations male threw a bomb
into a crowd of some 2000 people gathered together for the 2026
Invasion Day rally. The landmark chosen in the Perth Bell Tower
for its striking architectural presence and metaphorically along
the lines of ‘for whom the bell tolls’. The bomb is depicted in scant
relief, with incomplete lines to speak to the (thankfully) failure of
the bomb to detonate as well as to the watered down reporting of
the incident by mainstream media. The bomb and the bell tower
are in white purposely and the Australian flag is emblazoned on
the bomb as a comment on the animus insistences of Australia
Day. The background composition indicates the continued
presence of First Nations Cultures on this continent and the
bomb isolated over the golden orb of the giver of life, the Sun as a
comment on the intention of the bomber to extinguish life.