Bait Blak; Destiny Deacon

Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah UAE

Destiny Deacon’s Bait Blak commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE for Sharjah Biennial 15, “Thinking Historically in the Present”.

'Blak', a term coined by Deacon in 1991 is now a seminal part of the vernacular of resistance, in defiance of the colonial implications of 'white'. Deacon’s intriguing works continually provoke, challenge and reimagine the Aboriginal narrative through the photographic lens. ⁠

Descended from the KuKu Yalanji and Erub/Mer peoples of Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands respectively, multidisciplinary Indigenous Australian artist Deacon’s work is a site-specific installation that exposes the racialised clichés of First Nations/Aboriginal peoples embedded in Australian society and pop culture.

Juxtaposing archival footage, found objects and the artist’s own photography, the installation evokes the disarming atmosphere of a haunted house, unfolding across several rooms. Lightjet prints, aluminium composite panels, films, videos, lightbox and found images, staged photographs, close-up images of Black dolls, Aboriginalia, “Koori kitsch” and other found material, Deacon dramatises the misrepresentation and discrimination that First Nations people confront daily.

Venue - Bait Habib Al Yousef

Curated by Natalie King

Photography Haupt & Binder

7 February 7 - 11 June 2023