Blak Bay; Destiny Deacon
Ten Thousand Suns, Biennale of Sydney 2024
'Blak Bay' by Destiny Deacon, at White Bay Power Station as part of the 24th Biennale of Sydney: 'Ten Thousand Suns'.
The title uses 'Blak' a term coined by Deacon in 1991 which is now a seminal part of the vernacular of resistance, in defiance of the colonial implications of 'white'.
Deacon's photographs at White Bay Power Station introduce an Indigenous story into a colonial-named located by challenging its legacy. On the exterior windowpanes, Deacon inserts gloomy photographic images of dolls pressed against flywire, hazy nocturnal views from Deacon's home in Brunswick, Melbourne, as well as black and white found images of a watchful doll belonging to the Russian Czar from the 1917 revolution. Inside 'Blak Bay' is a suite of vibrant lightboxes dynamically sequenced to turn on and off. Together, Deacon's installation urges viewers to reconsider names, histories, and spaces through an Indigenous perspective. In essence, Deacon's work is a beacon of reclamation, confronting and re-envisioning Australia's colonial past.
The cavernous heritage-listed building opened its doors to the public after over a century. Sydney Biennale artistic directors re-purposed the turbine hall and boiler house to showcase art. The space is breathtaking, the selection of works beautiful. Deacon’s artwork is presented as a series of images that joyously dance across nine light boxes within a stripped back, raw industrial room whilst the exterior windows are covered in darker, gloomier imagery - showing a powerful counter-narrative to white colonial history. The show urges viewers to reconsider names, histories and spaces.
White Bay Power Station is located on Wangal land, and named after John White a surgeon on the “First Fleet”; a symbol of British colonialism in Australia and history, rooted in 19th century transport and industry, commercial ventures that displaced and marginalised indigenous communities. The artwork injects a first-nations story, challenging, reclaiming and re-envisioning Australia’s colonial past. Deacon's 'Blak Bay' commission is a powerful counter-narrative.
Artwork details: Destiny Deacon, 'Blak Bay', 2023-2024, photographs and lightboxes with timer, dimensions variable.
Curated by Natalie King
Photography David Suyasa
9 March - 10 June 2024
