424 172 Lest We Forget 2025
Wadawurrung Country (Ballarat)
whale bone, ochre, charcoal, acrylic on canvas
Hall evokes an evocative sensory experience that transcends time and place. The connection to family, culture and mateship are values that are instilled in the Australian culture. It is this bond of kinship that underlies the deep sense of loss that is felt when loved ones pass on to the Dreaming (pass away). Halls cultural practice of sharing history through verbal storytelling is depicted here through the use of ochre, charcoal and whale bone.
This monochromatic painting symbolises trauma and grief as it speaks to the loss of life through massacres and war.
The first canvas portrays the 424 recorded massacres of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia between 1788 to 1930. There are 424 painted markers to represent each massacre, ancestors who were never granted living rights nor cultural burial on their traditional lands. A single piece of humpback whale bone attached to the canvas stands to remind the viewer of the loss of life and cultural connection.
The second canvas has 172 markers that represent the loss of life of those who served in the Australian Armed Forces. There are 112 notes played on a bugle in The Last Post followed by 60 seconds of silence. Add these together and 172 speaks to the loss of family and mates, many of whom never made it back to Australian shores. A single piece of humpback whale bone represents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who served in the Australian Armed Forces.
The ochre is sourced from Narungga Country (Yorke Peninsula, South Australia) as is the humpback whale bone. The charcoal on the first canvas is from a Smoking Ceremony held on Survival Day on the shores of Lake Wendouree in 2022 on Wadawurrung Country (Ballarat, Victoria). The second canvas has charcoal from a smoking ceremony held at a memorial service at the Shrine of Remembrance in 2018 on Wurundjeri Country (Melbourne, Victoria).
The viewer can conjure the sounds of the whale and ocean, feel the cool damp air on one’s face, being enveloped in the darkness before the sun rises, one’s own rhythmic heartrate slows and the body is filled with sorrow as the night air is pierced with the sounds of the lone bugle playing The Last Post followed by the sweet aroma as one walks through the smoke of the Smoking Ceremony. LEST WE FORGET.
424 172 Lest We Forget 2025
Wadawurrung Country (Ballarat)
whale bone, ochre, charcoal, acrylic on canvas
Hall evokes an evocative sensory experience that transcends time and place. The connection to family, culture and mateship are values that are instilled in the Australian culture. It is this bond of kinship that underlies the deep sense of loss that is felt when loved ones pass on to the Dreaming (pass away). Halls cultural practice of sharing history through verbal storytelling is depicted here through the use of ochre, charcoal and whale bone.
This monochromatic painting symbolises trauma and grief as it speaks to the loss of life through massacres and war.
The first canvas portrays the 424 recorded massacres of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia between 1788 to 1930. There are 424 painted markers to represent each massacre, ancestors who were never granted living rights nor cultural burial on their traditional lands. A single piece of humpback whale bone attached to the canvas stands to remind the viewer of the loss of life and cultural connection.
The second canvas has 172 markers that represent the loss of life of those who served in the Australian Armed Forces. There are 112 notes played on a bugle in The Last Post followed by 60 seconds of silence. Add these together and 172 speaks to the loss of family and mates, many of whom never made it back to Australian shores. A single piece of humpback whale bone represents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who served in the Australian Armed Forces.
The ochre is sourced from Narungga Country (Yorke Peninsula, South Australia) as is the humpback whale bone. The charcoal on the first canvas is from a Smoking Ceremony held on Survival Day on the shores of Lake Wendouree in 2022 on Wadawurrung Country (Ballarat, Victoria). The second canvas has charcoal from a smoking ceremony held at a memorial service at the Shrine of Remembrance in 2018 on Wurundjeri Country (Melbourne, Victoria).
The viewer can conjure the sounds of the whale and ocean, feel the cool damp air on one’s face, being enveloped in the darkness before the sun rises, one’s own rhythmic heartrate slows and the body is filled with sorrow as the night air is pierced with the sounds of the lone bugle playing The Last Post followed by the sweet aroma as one walks through the smoke of the Smoking Ceremony. LEST WE FORGET.
