In this episode Tesha Malott and Thea Anamara Perkins speak about her family, practice, and That which endures, Thea’s latest body of work shown at Verge in September 2022. Thea Anamara Perkins is an Arrundaand Kawkadoon artist whose practice incorporates portraiture and landscape to depict authentic representations of First Nations peoples and Country.
With a delicate hand, Thea answers heavy questions about what it means to be Indigenous in contemporary Australia, and how Aboriginal people can and should be portrayed.
That which endures illuminated lesser-shown moments of the assimilation period and the fight for Indigenous civil rights in the 60s. Alongside these figurative images, a large landscape painting, showing both the birth and resting place of Charles was displayed, connecting country to ancestry. The works featured Charles Perkins during his time as a student at the University of Sydney as well as other key historical moments of the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in Sydney and the Freedom Rides.
