Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth

When

Duration

Location

Ross Family Studio

Glasshouse Regional Gallery presents:

Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth

Directed by Angelica Cristina Dio

Film + Q&A: Blak Douglas
Film Running Time: 90 min
Q&A: 30 min
Screened in the Ross Family Studio
Film Rating: M
Morning tea provided

Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth is a gripping testament to the spirit and transformative power of Blak Douglas’ iconic art to address and heal the injustices of the past. His reflections are powerful, brutally honest and disarming, establishing him as one of the most vital and authentic voices in the Australian arts landscape.

Blak Douglas invites us into his painting studio in the back streets of Redfern, sharing intimate moments of an artist at work and glimpses into his exploration of creativity. With unflinching directness and courage, he discusses his experience growing up having to prove his Aboriginality to forge his identity as a working artist, attempting to reconcile with the intergenerational trauma he witnessed directly in his father and which he personally confronts. As he prepares paint and canvas, he pores over archival records and family photographs in the search for context and meaning. His compelling narrative transcends the canvas and becomes a catalyst for mining deeper into the past.

At the film’s heart we bear witness to personal revelations Blak Douglas shares about his family history. A painful truth unfolds - his grandmother, torn from her family as a child, was taken away by the Aboriginal Protection Board and forced into servitude. Blak Douglas traces her life back to the haunting rooms of the Cootamundra Girls Home, a lonely property where she was stripped of her name, language, family and culture and moulded into a “domestic”. We witness the emotional gravity of this place and the effect it has on Blak Douglas as he comments on the decay and the refusal of those who choose not to acknowledge the devastating impacts of colonisation.

Blak Douglas

Born Adam Douglas Hill at Bungarrabee ‘Blacktown’, NSW (1970) to an Aboriginal Father & Australian Mother.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Design) from the University of Western Sydney Nepean (1994), later becoming self-practiced in painting. His graphic style is generally commentating of politics and social justice.

Blak Douglas won the Mil-Pra Award 2003, Kilgour Prize 2019, the STILL Award 2020 and the Archibald Prize 2022. Blak has exhibited extensively including: the 3rd National Indigenous Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia, the TARNANTHI festival in Adelaide and the AAMU in the Netherlands.

Blak Douglas is also a classically trained Yidaki (Didgeridoo) player. Performing extensively at festivals and opening ceremonies such as the Festival of the Dreaming (Bangarra), the Australian Idol final and the Sydney welcome for Madiba ‘Nelson Mandela’.