Visual and performing Dhungatti artist, Blak Douglas examines Gayamay (Manly Cove) as a site of First Contact, and creates new work exploring ideas around place and displacement, and dissecting the narrative of Manly Cove from an Indigenous perspective. For this solo project, the artist will show film, paintings and sculptures to find connections to place as a platform for discussion and debate.

First contact accounts of Manly Cove in the northern part of Sydney Harbour describe Aboriginal men carrying shields and spears with ochre marks on their bodies, and of the women and children fishing from bark canoes and protected by the men on shore.

In 1994, an artwork commissioned by then Manly Council and unveiled on a plaque by Lowjita O'Donoghue CBE AM, Chairperson, The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission, acknowledged that the Cannalgal and Kayimai clans were the custodians of this area long before it came to be known as Manly, and that the area’s sacred sites were bequeathed to them by the creator, Baiame.

The MAG&M Art Wall facing Manly Cove will be transformed by the artist to create a 24/7 public art piece further embedding the project in this place.

This exhibition is supported by the Aboriginal Heritage Office and Colormaker Industries.

Talks and Events

• Friends of MAG&M and Volunteers' exhibition preview: Fri 21 Apr, 10am - 11am. Free event. RSVP via MAG&M Eventbrite.
• Exhibition Opening: Fri 21 Apr, 6pm - 8pm. Free event. RSVP via MAG&M Eventbrite.