Brisbane-based artist of Bidjara heritage, Michael Cook presents twelve large-scale works depicting an Indigenous couple with a white child navigating the Central Australian desert landscape in a fictionalised reversal of Cook’s own childhood.
“During the family’s journey, they discover their connection back to Country and culture, imbued with the importance of community. They find a release from their conditioning within Western society to find a deeper level of belonging,” says Cook, “and a realisation of what is important in the ‘fake’ world we seem to be living in.”

Michael Cook, Broken Down, 2023, archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle 310 gsm art paper, ed. of 5 + 2 AP, 113 × 170cm. Courtesy the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Queensland
Jan Murphy Gallery
Until 22 April 2023
Queensland