Dr Fiona Foley has been awarded the Queensland Premier’s Award for a work of State Significance for her groundbreaking work of Indigenous scholarship that addresses the inherent silences, errors and injustices from the perspective of her people, the Badtjala of K’gari (Fraser Island). Foley shines a critical light on the little-known colonial-era practice of paying Indigenous workers in opium and the ‘solution’ of then displacing them to K’gari.
Biting the Clouds – a euphemism for being stoned on opium – combines historical, personal and cultural imagery to reclaim the Badtjala story from the colonisation narrative. A renowned artists nationally, full-colour images of Foley’s artwork adds further impact to this important examination of Australian history.
Congratulations from your colleagues at the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand.
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