In ‘A Dickensian Sideshow’, Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens steps deep into the dark corners of the circus tent to expose the insidious discrimination against circus and boxing-tent performers of Indigenous descent in the 1920s to the 1950s. Using found objects collected in Lismore and surrounding country, imbued with the ‘memories’ and ‘whispers’ of the past, Dickens unearths underlying narratives of tender and melancholy co-existence among performers, celebrating greatness in adversity despite harrowing interactions with audiences.
Karla Dickens, Blue Buffoon, 2020, mixed media, 64 x 64cm. Photograph: Mick Richards. © Karla Dickens. Courtesy the artist and Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Queensland
Lismore Regional Gallery
18 November 2020 to 21 February 2021
New South Wales
