Kunyi June Anne McInerney: My Paintings Speak For Me Exhibition

In this exhibition, South Australian artist Kunyi June Anne McInerney draws upon her experiences as a member of the Stolen Generation in the Oodnadatta Mission Home during the 1950’s. Kunyi’s vibrant use of colour, facial expression, and depiction of landscape document the memories of her childhood to reflect on her own dispossession, revealing an often-invisible part of Australian history.

In the artist’s own words, she says “these are my stories from a dry remote place where my experiences were so different from what Australian children know today. I want to tell my story, so they don’t ever do it again. They took away my family, my culture and who I could have been. These are not fairy tales. They are true and I want people to understand.”

Kunyi June Anne McInerney: My Paintings Speak For Me is a sensitive exploration of the experiences of cultural loss, separation from family, and finding happiness amongst hardship.

Image: Mission Buildings with Dining Area (detail), 2017, acrylic on canvas, 61 x 91cm. On loan from the Migration Museum, a division of the History Trust of South Australia.

This exhibition is supported by Country Arts SA.