Aunty Rhonda - Stolen, Strong, Resiliant
Jim Filmer
- Sitter: Rhonda Collard
- Medium: Photograph
- Dimensions: 145cm x 180cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
Rhonda Collard is a Yamatji-Noongar woman from the lands around Carnarvon, Western Australia, who now lives and works in south-east Queensland teaching art to Indigenous youth.
A survivor of the Stolen Generations, Rhonda was taken from her family at age three. She spent her childhood in a church-run mission where she endured harsh discipline and treatment.
“Despite this, Rhonda’s indomitable spirit led her to reclaim her Dreaming, finding healing through music, dance and art… This portrait represents an incredibly tough life, but one of a person that has now found her healing, her voice, her love and her proudness as an Indigenous woman.”
In this close-up black and white photograph of Collard, who went on to complete a visual arts degree and write and illustrate award-winning children’s books, the artist captures the soulful look in her eyes as she holds her musical instrument close, an intimate moment that speaks to the healing and self-reclamation found through creative expression.
About the artist
Jim Filmer is a Brisbane based visual artist and photographer with 35 years’ experience. He has shown in solo and group exhibitions and was a finalist in the Moran Australian Contemporary Photographic Prize in 2016. Filmer often prints on translucent, lightweight materials, transforming traditional two-dimensional images into luminous, dynamic works that reflect the spirit and beauty of the subject in a uniquely alive and ethereal way.
