Sorry for Your Loss

This work has been created by Jumbunna Research at UTS through the leadership of Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt and Associate Professor Pauline Clague. ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ is a collaborative community driven multisensory installation  work giving voice to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who have lost their lives in custody. We are more then statistics, we are mothers, sisters and daughters. We have belonging, family and place. Our absence does not go unnoticed, we do not just disappear, we will be remembered.

“The death of another black woman in custody cuts deeply into our hearts. The preventability of this loss of life speaks to institutional neglect from both the legal and medical systems that feels criminal. Of the layered tragedy in these deaths, one of them is that often these women – mothers, daughters, partners, friends – are forgotten. They can no longer speak for themselves so we have a responsibility to remember, to prevent them from becoming just a statistic. In this project, led by Associate Professor Pauline Clague, we have been able to reflect not just on the darkness of precious lives lost in circumstances that are cruel and inhumane but also to talk back to the institutional structures. Creativity is an act of defiance and our cultural practices – like weaving and possum cloak making – are communal. They bring us together to share sovereignty and to exchange stories of resilience, to laugh and to form bonds of deep and true affection. These are the things that decolonise and they create a narrative that counters one of oppression, domination and violence. ”
Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt

The Installation Elements

Sorry For Your Loss is set up like a cell block, but can be placed in a set up in a space that links to a cell space, we have a build frame, but not weather proof, can utilize a container, or room. The Cell block which is painted grey and white is the following measurements: 3X6m in space and a height of 2.4m. Needs at least a four hour construct time, and consists of 12 panels, plus door, need screwdriver to put together. Power also needed for projection video and sound.

The Toilet Sits in one corner, with a small wall. It is made out of paper mache. It is the 339 Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal and Islanders into Death In Custody(RCAIDIC) used to make a toilet in the room.

The Eye Made out of the Statistics in the RCAIDIC report, it represents the watch house and the eye of non-Indigenous people seeing us as a statistic rather than a person, some of the deaths were seen as preventable in the findings.

The Sun Mat Made out of the Chapter on Women incarceration from the RCAIDC report. Woven like the Sun Matts of our people it weaves together the history of incarceration and the impact on our cultural knowledge when our women are taken away.

Graphics

If using the cell block (inside install only as not weather protected) there are two elements that are a part of the build set, the outside with the current states of Aboriginal women incarceration and inside the timestamps of the death of 6 women’s stories.

The Possum Cloak - Bed

The 48 panels of the possum cloak represent the women that have died in custody since 1981. Made by members of our Indigenous community and supporters that work in social justice and deaths in custody inquests. It is used as the blanket on the bed. Ike a cloak that wraps our dead, it was important for us to open this to the community to work on and through together. One is blank, representing the women we don’t know about. There are two that are in colour paint of the hand prints of a girl and boys, for the children left behind and the impact to community.

Listen to the Sorry For Your Loss Speaking Out Broadcast on ABC

The Print

The poster was turned into a print. It is a limited print (48 editions). We sell them for $500 and the sales support Jumbunna’s strategic litigation clinic to help families attend inquests for those that have died in custody. We also during the first exhibition had created possum keyrings that you could take for a gold coin donation to also help with this, we have raised over $1200 to support accommodation.

 

 

SFYL Video

 

6 Actors recreate the stories of women’s lives who have died in custody. The duration is 14 minutes, and is looped to carry on for the whole day. The visual is a young women in a cell block and the graphics at the beginning allows it to be looped. 

Watch SFYL 27 May 2018

 

The Booklet

The booklet was created for the first exhibition, contains the story and the input from the women who helped in the making of the possum cloak. There is an article written as a part of Jumbunna’s Research team by Prof Chris Cunneen and Dr Amanda Porter on Women in the Criminal Justice system and the story about the process of making the installation. 

COVERAGE IN MEDIA

Panel

The day after opening the exhibition we also had a panel talking about Indigenous women incarceration rates and the issues. MC’d by Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt, with speakers: Professor Chris Cuneen, Dr Amanada Porter, Craig Longman and George Newhouse.

This was put on on facebook live under Jumbunna research and has had 1.4K views

Watch Panel: Indigenous Women and Girls and the Criminal Justice System

The panel was also recorded and featured as an episode for Speaking Out

Listen to the Sorry For Your Loss Speaking Out Broadcast on ABC

Articles

Read Revoicing the stories of Aboriginal women who’ve died in custody

Read SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS LAUNCH 

Read SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS PROJECT

WHERE IT HAS BEEN SHOWN

Opened 27th May 2018 stayed at Boomali Artists Coop for 7 weeks.

Was at UNSW FOR THREE DAYS AS A PART OF THE CRIMINOLOGY CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER 2018

ELEMENTS of the project were used in conjunction with Head on Exhibtion Paddington Town Hall for the photographic installation about Deaths in Custody – Indigenous (In)Justice: Confronting Deaths in Custody.

I’m Sorry For Your Loss

Article written about incarceration rates by Prof Christopher Cunnen, and Dr Amanda Porter, Article written by Dist Professor Larissa Behrendt, Article Written by Associate Professor Pauline Clague, the exhibition, the artwork and the community collaboration – Photos and videos.