Destiny Deacon works

“What I do is interpret my visions of how we feel as Aboriginal people living in a colonial society like Australia.”

Destiny Deacon creates works that make First Peoples laugh, while forcing non-Indigenous people to reckon with their imaginings of us. Her work spans video, photography and installation, and often engages her family and friends to help set her scenes. She rescues plastic dolls, tea towels and other Koorie kitsch from op shops and markets to create her imagined worlds.

In her works, Destiny references popular culture and spotlights the lack of Indigenous representation on screen and the oversaturation of images that misrepresent us. The characters in Destiny’s worlds look back at the viewer knowingly, cheekily contesting the origins of racist stereotypes and preconceived ideas of Aboriginal identity.

Her works centre Indigenous people in the frame, playing roles more nuanced and diverse than what has been available to us in the mainstream. They are equal parts funny as they are dark, and as Destiny says, “There’s absurdity even in what’s terrible, and what’s absurd shows up the flaws in the situation. If you didn’t see the humour in things you’d go mad.”