One of the images in this collage is what a nerve looks like under a microscope. Another image is the result of leprosy. This work is about all the diseases which came with the colonizers, brain tumors, cirrhosis of the liver, the common cold and small pox which wiped a lot of people out during the frontier wars in NSW. I found the images on medical websites and wanted to use them to show what some of these diseases look like on a cellular level. I have collaged and painted onto large cardboard pieces reminiscent of making a school project. I’ve also collaged images of microscopic healthy red blood cells which are very beautiful but so vulnerable to infection when there is no immunity. I find it appalling that a disease like leprosy is still in some of our communities and that diseases like rheumatic fever are on the increase and especially among young Indigenous kids here in Australia.
The title refers to the sensitivity in Australia among a large section of our society to hearing about the realities of invasion and ongoing colonization here and the ensuing ‘history wars’ and culture of blaming the victim.