
Michael Cook, Livin’ the dream (Welcome Home), 2020, edition 8, inkjet print; 80 x 120cm (small) or 120 x 180cm (large)
Andrew Baker Art Dealer
Queensland
In his new series ‘Livin’ the dream’, Michael Cook imagines the impact of dislocation and the inequality with which Australia continues to live. An Aboriginal nuclear family headed by “Joey Jones” is transplanted into a remote outback community. While they bring with them aspirational “white” accoutrements—the luxury EH Holden car (1963), a swimming pool, a boat, and smart clothes—their facial expressions and physical stillness betray bewilderment; their ability to identify themselves is threatened and distanced by their removal from the familiar.