Quorum 1: An interview with Thea Perkins

Thea Anamara Perkins is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman and emerging artist whose practice incorporates painting and installation.

Thea Perkins. Photo: Thea Perkins Instagram @anamara_art

Raised and based in Sydney, Thea has family ties to the Redfern community. She has worked in a broad range of community projects and is also an active member of Seed, Australia’s first Indigenous youth-­led climate network.

Thea had her first solo show History House at Firstdraft in 2018. Since then, she has been working with Tangentyere artists, and exhibited in Tarnanthi 2019 at the Art Gallery of South Australia. She is a 2020 resident artist at The Clothing Store, Carriageworks, and, most recently, won The 2020 Alice Prize for her work, Tent Embassy, 2019. Thea joined Firstdraft as a Co-Director in 2020.

Firstdraft: Congratulations on taking out The Alice Prize! Can you tell us about the inception your winning work, Tent Embassy?

Thea Perkins: I went about creating the work to commemorate a significant birthday of my Aunty Rachel, and came to this treasured photo of her as a young woman with my Pop [Aboriginal activist, Charles Perkins]. I’ve been interested in the imagery from this era, in exploring and reprising the radical spirit that characterised it. Yet this photograph had a special energy – an aside on the periphery of the major events taking place – a space that was focused and tender. It resonated with me, and reflected how the political was personal for my Pop.

“the political was personal for my Pop.”

Thea Perkins, Tent Embassy, 2019. Courtesy the artist

Thea Perkins, History House, 2018, installation view, Firstdraft. Photo: Zan Wimberley

FD: Your Firstdraft exhibition History House in 2018 similarly drew on photographs from your family archive. How has photography shaped your personal and familial identity?

TP: We can be overwhelmed by history and personal history – photographs strike me as both records of and portals to moments. It’s this inherent duality that interests me – a point in time that is fundamentally unknowable yet also something that tangibly produced you and your identity. Mixed in with all the stories, I’m interested in the way they shape us and how we understand ourselves.

FD: Who are some of the people who have shaped your practice, and why?

TP: There are many people, but to name a few; Gordon Bennett is one of my biggest inspirations, for his innovation, and the incisive clarity with which he dissected and articulated very complex notions about Aboriginality, race and politics – often when these conversations and paradigms were uncharted territory. Tony Albert, our adoptive brother, has a wonderful and generative genius, and always leads with love even when dealing with our dark history. And my mum Hetti [Perkins]; it is through her support that I am an artist today.

Tony Albert. Photo: Thea Perkins Instagram @anamara_art

“Tony Albert, our adoptive brother, has a wonderful and generative genius, and always leads with love even when dealing with our dark history.”

Photo: Thea Perkins Instagram @anamara_art

FD: What does a typical day of self-isolation look like to you? How has the lockdown changed your practice, if at all, and are you working on anything now?

TP: It’s actually been a time to shift gears and reflect. I’ve been experimenting with materials, but also importantly conceptualising new work, which is something I need a lot of space and focus for.

I’m lucky to have a few projects that I’m working away on, and was recently invited to participate in the Art Gallery of NSW Together In Art program, which is a really wonderful initiative. The From My Window series was an interesting opportunity to contemplate these portals and reflect on this state of suspended animation where all we can do is worry for people far away. It’s also a great way to express my gratitude for the small things – like my cat, Raven.

FD: Who or what are you listening to, watching, reading? How do you stay connected – or how do you disconnect? – in these times?

TP: I recently read The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector, which gave a strange but lovely perspective. I’ve fallen into the trap of endless scrolling, especially news articles, and had to learn to moderate that. Seeking out nature has been important; and breathing, to be grounded and mindful.

I’ve also really enjoyed spending isolation with my family because we’re increasingly scattered around the world.

Thea Perkins. Photo: Thea Perkins Instagram @anamara_art

“I want to champion emerging artists, and strengthen the diversity of our community.”

FD: Do you have a favourite or particularly memorable exhibition that you saw at Firstdraft, and why?

TP: I thought Subverting ‘The Intolerable Narrative’ [curated by Nikita Holcombe] was a really great show, with a really strong premise and works. I also had the chance to assist the installation of [Alair Pambegan’s] Walkaln-Aw, which was a beautiful articulation of story.

FD: Why did you become a Firstdraft Co-Director?

TP: I want to champion emerging artists, and strengthen the diversity of our community.

Alair Pambegan, Walkaln-Aw, 2017, installation view, Firstdraft. Photo: Zan Wimberley

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