"Hidden in the darkness of the night and yet firmly engraved onto the Australian landscape, possums are a big part of Adelaide Park Lands. They always have been. And will be for times to come. Enduring, easily adapting to a new environment, possums are a continual presence here, unaffected by political, social or cultural changes.Within the stretches of the Park Lands, a small area honours these timid creatures. Pirltawardli, which roughly translates from Kaurna as Home of the Bush Tail Possum, which lived in the lofty red gums. Traditionally it also served as a camping ground and a place of gathering for thousands of years. After colonization, these gatherings and other cultural practices were brutally disrupted. Fortunately, the effacement of first nation people hasn’t succeeded; their customs, dreaming and language have not been completely lost, despite persistent attempts.
This painting, while touching on the history of Pirltawardli, is meant to evoke hope. And possibly more than hope. It endeavours to position the disruptions of the last two centuries within a context in which we reside; the nature and animals, the Moon and the sun, the sky and the earth. There is endurance in the nature around us and something deeply spiritual its timelessness. This is not to diminish the pain or things that have been lost, but to acknowledge that no matter how much disruption, struggle and change unfold, some things endure.