HERE + NOW (Group Exhibition)

“Unlabelled Coffee With Extra Milk”

2020

Tom’s current body of work, “Unlabelled Coffee with Extra Milk” as part of the group exhibition Here + Now serves to tell the story of navigating through an Indigenous heritage lost in generations of systemic racism. A loss of place, hidden family figures and severed ties has made connections to familial roots hard to trace. All known knowledge has been retained through one relative and connection to a long-lost culture restored through an annual football (soccer) tournament. True story.

“Unlabelled Coffee with Extra Milk” serves as a catalyst to challenge the viewers perception of contemporary Indigenous people and their connections to the surrounding world. Hard to ask questions are addressed and explored in conjunction with confronting and shutting down mass publicised stereotypes. How much are ya?

How Much Are Ya?

Acrylic on ply

120cm x 80cm

2020

‘A common and uncomfortable question – the kind that makes your skin crawl and turns every blood vessel in your body into a sugar-coated gummy worm. No sweet coating needed here. A question powered and enforced through mass publication; one that has become a contemporary notion, removing First Nations people further from their roots since European colonisation.’