Exploring injustices committed against Aboriginal Peoples and the suppression of their legacies, Ryan Presley presents a series of large-scale ‘Blood Money’ (2010-) in the form of Australian banknotes. These works in watercolour, featuring figureheads of important Aboriginal men and women including lawman and warrior Dundalli (1820-1855), resistance leader Fanny Balbuk (1840-1907), Wik native title activist Gladys Tybingoompa (1946-2006) and Jandamarra (1873-1897) of the Baruba tribe, among others, are memorials to their courage and resilience and experiences of dispossession and oppression – the violations.
Ryan Presley, Fifty Dollar Note, 2011, Fanny Balbuk Commemorative Infinite Dollar Note, 2011, Truganini Commemorative. Courtesy the artist and Institute of Modern Art, Queensland
Institute of Modern Art
Until 28 April, 2018
Queensland
