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Fiona Macpherson, ‘We don’t talk about that here’, 2022. Oil on canvas, 183 x 136cm. Image courtesy: the artist.

Artist statement

‘We don’t talk about that here’ speaks to the cognitive dissonance surrounding the presence of trauma in photographic archives that is otherwise invisible from the surface. The large scale oil painting depicts a childhood image of myself with my grandfather and a handwritten message from him, using painting techniques of inversion, distortion and erasure to navigate a personal narrative whilst denying the subject of expected representation.

Instagram handle: @rnadness

fiona macpherson art piece for jenny brit award

Acknowledgement of Country

UNSW School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.

We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.