Child’s Play and Women’s Work

It may surprise you to learn that dollhouses were not originally intended as childhood playthings. The first examples of European dollhouses, or dockenhaus in German, come from the seventeenth century. Meaning ‘miniature house’, these were intended for adults and served as a physical display of wealth, class, and privilege. In Mother (Dolls House), artist Michael […]

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In Memoriam

Against a strikingly empty, yet occupied Australian landscape, art photographer Michael Cook (1968-) has managed to capture the heavy, solemn weight of both motherhood and memory in a poignant moment—looking forward but also static, with the past still in easy view. In Mother (Pedal Car), it is easy to see Cook’s own personal journey reflected. […]

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Solemn and Still

Where there are people, there is noise. Yet this photograph by Michael Cook (1968-), part of a thirteen image series, titled Mother (Bicycle), exudes only silence and stillness. Born in 1968 and adopted by white parents who were staunch activists and allies of the Indigenous community, Michael Cook has explored a wide breadth of subjects […]

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A Living Tradition

Based on extensive research undertaken by  Yorta Yorta artist Treahna Hamm, this contemporary possum skin cloak was crafted in 2007. The prominent incisor tooth from a possum’s lower jaw was used to etch the non-furry side of the skin with designs that represent the totem and personal markings of Aboriginal people, as well as the […]

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