26/05/2026
Today is National Sorry Day, and the start of Reconciliation Week.
National Sorry Day is about acknowledging the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
Works of art are an important platform, not only for artists to tell their stories but for students to learn about them.
This work, 'Stranded', constructed in 2014 by Penny Evans, is a mixed media artwork. It is comprised of eight strands of red thread each with approximately 25 - 30 black cardboard tags attached.
Each black tag features various details and views of Penny Evans' previous works, stitched on with coloured thread using a sewing machine. At the time of its construction, the 226 pieces of the work served to represent the 226 years since the colonisation of Australia in 1788.
As the artist explains, 'each piece is made of printed images featuring various diamond designs graffitied onto ceramic tiles. They are then attached to tags and stitched through a sewing machine. The individual pieces signify people. Some are children, some are old, and others are in various stages of initiation, each represented by different sections of designs and sewn lines in various colours.'
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Image: Penny Evans, 'Stranded', 2014, mixed media - paper, cotton, raffia, collage, 2000 x 1080mm.
This work was part of the 2nd Tamworth Textile Triennial - Group Exchange.
📍 Tamworth Regional Gallery Collection
Penny Evans Art
