The work is based off a piece of writing I completed many years ago; a stage play in which no words are spoken by the performer. Rediscovering the piece, the social climate it was responding to is all too similar to the present. 

The stage directions describe a young Aboriginal woman, moving around her bedroom, studying newspaper clippings plastered in batches on three walls. Looking through a portal, a timeline of colonisation at its worst. In 230 years, colonisers managed to wipe out ancient languages and ancient peoples. This genocide is institutionalized through policies of assimilation, integration and reconciliation. The legacy of these policies are deaths in custody, stolen children, stolen land, locked up children, stolen futures.
 
Between the time of writing the original piece and now, many different policies have been enacted, promises broken and lies spoken by the successive governments. Our living conditions have gotten worse. The 2007 Northern Territory Intervention (which continues to this day) required the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act in order to be implemented. They took council control away from Aboriginal communities; we lost our independence and our ability to progress and determine our own future.

In this performance, I will be present on the set, as an older woman, amongst the spoken stage directions addressed to a young woman from a previous era, but existing in and responding to the present day. This discord points to the time warp of broken promises and lies by the successive commonwealth governments of Australia that have ensured the living conditions for our communities have gotten worse so they can continue to exploit Aboriginal land and Aboriginal people. Capitalism at its best. This is perpetuating a world of frustration, sorrow and anger in our communities. This anger and frustration is hidden deep inside each of us, and often, bursts out with a vengeance, is punished, then returns hidden until the next time.

In this performance, the false membrane between historical and present day political events and people is vanquished. My History, Your History, Our History invites the audience to connect with the lived reality of colonization.

The funds will assist costs of developing and running the performance, including;

-       Paying the artist and their production team for their labour
-       Sourcing props
-       Sourcing lighting