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Destiny Deacon

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Destiny Deacon
HonFRPS
Deacon, c. 2017
Born(1957-02-06)6 February 1957
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Died23 May 2024(2024-05-23) (aged 67)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
EducationMac.Robertson Girls' High School
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne (BA)
La Trobe University
Known forPhotography, video, installation, performance
MotherEleanor Harding
AwardsNational Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (2009)
Clemenger Contemporary Art Award (2009)
Red Ochre Award (2022)

Destiny Deacon HonFRPS (6 February 1957 – 23 May 2024) was an Australian photographer, broadcaster, political activist and media artist. She exhibited photographs and films across Australia and also internationally, focusing on politics and exposing the disparagement around Australian Aboriginal cultures. She was credited with introducing the term "Blak" to refer to Indigenous Australians' contemporary art, culture and history.

Early life

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Deacon was born on 6 February 1957[1] in Maryborough, Queensland and was of the Kuku Yalanji of Far North Queensland[2] and Erub/Mer (Torres Strait Islander) peoples.[3] She had 6 siblings, 4 from her mother's other relationship.[4]

Deacon relocated to Port Melbourne[5] in 1959 with her mother Eleanor Harding, who was then married to Destiny's father wharf labourer and unionist Warren Deacon. Soon after, Deacon's parents separated and she and her siblings were raised by her mother with the help of a close Indigenous community.[6] Growing up, Deacon and her family lived in various Melbourne inner suburbs including commission housing, which influenced her world views greatly.[7] She was a graduate of Mac.Robertson Girls' High School[8] and her studio was at her house in Brunswick, Victoria.[9]

Deacon's interest in photography started at a very early age.[10] However, instead of pursuing photography, Deacon decided to attend university and study politics, a field that her mother had been very active within, being involved with the United Council of Aboriginal Women. After attending the University of Melbourne and completing a Bachelor of Arts program in politics and obtaining a Diploma in teaching from La Trobe University, Deacon moved on to first become a history teacher across various community and secondary schools around Victoria, and then to a tutor and lecturer in Australian Writing and Culture, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Production at the University of Melbourne.[6]

It wasn't until 1990[6] after a stint on community radio for 3CR Melbourne[11] that she decided to move into professional photography, after holding an exhibition with a few friends.[10]

Artistic development

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Before her venture into professional photography, Deacon became involved with the Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins, working from Canberra as a staff trainer. Her strong interest in politics led her to become one of his "Angels", which was the beginning of her artistic endeavours.[7][12]

Using what she had learnt about politics through Perkins, the "Angels", and her upbringing, Deacon started taking photographs of her culture using her trademark "black dollies" and other kitsch items as props to expose racism in Australia.[13]

Aesthetics

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Deacon said in an interview published in the Biennale of Sydney in 2000: "Photography is [a] white people's invention. Lots of things seem really technical, for example the camera, the darkroom.. I've started taking the kind of pictures I do because I can't paint..and then I discovered it was a good way of expressing some feelings that lurk inside".[14]

Deacon worked across a spectrum of different mediums including photography, video, installation and performance, but the one she was most noted for was her use of dolls to convey her message about the racism that exists within Australia.[7] Deacon's photography polarised popular Anglo culture against Indigenous existence, creating satirical images, using Aboriginal imagery, found items, family members, and friends in very strange scenarios.[15]

In the Oz (1998) series[16] Deacon incorporated Koori kitsch dolls and showed the construction of identity is an old game that she could play too.[17] Using The Wizard of Oz as a starting point for her re-presentation of Aboriginal culture and identity, she recognised the fictionalising of history, identity and nationhood in Australia's past – a reminder that things are not always as they appear, nor what we have been made to believe; that history is written much similar to a story.[17]

Deacon coined the term "Blak" as a reference to Indigenous Australian culture in 1991, in the series Blak lik mi, which was exhibited in 'Lisa Bellear, Brenda Croft and Destiny Deacon: Kudjeris' at the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative from 13 November to 4 December 1991. The phrase referenced the 1961 book Black Like Me by white American journalist John Howard Griffin, detailing his 1959–60 journey through the US Deep South disguised as African American during a time of racial segregation. The title of his book was taken from African American author Langston Hughes poem Dream Variations. Deacon stated that she removed the 'c' from 'black' in resistance to the slur "black cunt", which she had heard shouted at her growing up.[18]

It is also suggested that Deacon was using a term possibly appropriated from American hip hop or rap, the intention behind it was that it "reclaim[ed] historical, representational, symbolical, stereotypical and romanticised notions of Black or Blackness", and expressed taking back power and control within a society that does not give its Indigenous peoples much opportunity for self-determination as individuals and communities.[19] Deacon herself said that it was "taking on the 'colonisers' language and flipping it on its head", as an expression of authentic urban Aboriginal identity.[20]

Where's Mickey? (2003) shows the large difference between how Indigenous people are perceived by the white Australian population and the reality of her family and friends' lives. Deacon said about her work that the "Humour cuts deep. I like to think that there's a laugh and a tear in each".[7]

Work and exhibitions

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An early video work was "Home video" (1987).[2] Deacon's first show, "Pitcha Mi Koori", was a part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, and in 1991, her work was included in Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Her first solo exhibition, Caste Offs, was held in 1993 at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney. Deacon's work began to be included in group exhibitions in 1994, including Blakness: Blak City Culture! at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne, True Colours: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists Raise the Flag at Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool; South London Gallery; City Gallery, Leicester and in Australia.[21] "Welcome to My Koori World" (video, 1992)[2] was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in a show titled An Eccentric Orbit: Video Art in Australia, which was also picked up by ABC Television for the Blackout series.[21]

In 1998, Deacon explored her mother's life by photographing her family in the Torres Strait Islands after her death two years earlier, documenting it in a show titled "Postcards from Mummy". This journey "allowed her to come to terms with the loss of her mother and the importance of history, memory and place to identify".[21]

Deacon was the director of the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts [de] in 2010.[22] She was a staff member of the RMIT School of Art from 1999 to 2012.[23]

Deacon's work was featured in numerous local and international exhibitions such as Perspecta (1993, 1999), Havana Biennial (1994), Johannesburg Biennale (1995), Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (1996), Melbourne International Biennial (1999), Biennale of Sydney (2000), Yokohama Triennale [ja] (2001), Das Lied von der Erde by Peter George d'Angelino Tap [nl] (2001), Documenta 11 (2002), the Salzburger Kunstverein (2004) and most recently the Sharjah Biennial (2023).[24][25][26]

Freefall (2001) by Deacon at the National Museum of Australia in 2023

Walk & don't look blak was Deacon's first large retrospective held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, in 2004, encompassing the past 14 years of her work and practice. From there it toured the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne, the Adam Art Gallery and the City Gallery Wellington, the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Noumea, New Caledonia, and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. For 2004: Australian Culture Now at the ACMI in Melbourne, Deacon was commissioned to make a film for the programme Neighbours (the remix).[6]

In 2020, the National Gallery of Victoria mounted a retrospective exhibition of her work, the first in 15 years, curated by Indigenous curator Myles Russell-Cook, called DESTINY. Scheduled to run from 27 March to 9 August 2020, the opening of the gallery was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[2] Russell-Cook also edited the mammoth Destiny, a monograph celebrating her art and life.[27]

A Deacon photograph taken c. 2022 for exhibition at the Embassy of Australia, Paris in 2022

In 2009, she was awarded the Visual Artist of the Year Award by The Deadlys in 2009. She was also awarded the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award that year.[22] In September 2009, Deacon was awarded the Clemenger Contemporary Art Award.[28] In 2019, she received an honorary doctorate in education from La Trobe University.[4] In 2022, Destiny Deacon was awarded the Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.[29] She was also awarded the Red Ochre Award in May that year, along with Stephen Page.[30] Deacon was awarded the Prix HSBC pour la photographie [fr] by the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in 2023.[31]

Deacon photographs at a museum in 2022. The one on the left is Smile (2017)[32] and the one on the right is the one in this article above.

In June 2024, Destiny Deacon work Arrears Window was featured on a "First Peoples Melbourne Art Tram", presented as part of the RISING: festival in Melbourne.[12]

Personal life and death

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Deacon came out as lesbian in the 1970s.[4]

She died after a long illness in Melbourne on 23 May 2024, aged 67.[33] According to The Guardian, Deacon had "faced significant health challenges over the past three years" by May 2022.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Kirker, Anne (20 October 2006). "Deacon, Destiny". Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2021585. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "DESTINY". National Gallery of Victoria. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Destiny Deacon". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Browning, Daniel (5 June 2024). "Destiny Deacon's life of political art was a true act of love". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Arts Calls with Tracey Moffatt". Australian Broadcast Corporation. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Destiny Deacon Biography". Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d "Destiny Deacon MCA" (PDF). Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Upgrade for Mac.Rob!" (PDF). Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. 18 December 2020. p. 12. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  9. ^ Browning, Daniel (1 August 2024). "Destiny's children: Destiny Deacon". The Monthly. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Summer Series 6". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  11. ^ Perkins, Hettie; Jonestitle, Jonathan (2008). Half Light: Portraits of Black Australia. Art Gallery of New South Wales. p. 64.
  12. ^ a b "RISING: Your guide to the 2024 First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams". Rising (festival). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Summer Series 6". Australian Broadcast Corporation Australia. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  14. ^ Waterlow, Nick (2000). Sydney Biennale 2000. Sydney Biennale LTD. p. 46.
  15. ^ Lenman, Robin; Nicholson, Angela, eds. (2005). "Native Peoples and Photography". The Oxford Companion to the Photograph. Oxford Reference. ISBN 978-0-19-866271-6. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  16. ^ Deacon, Destiny (1998). "Works from the collective title Oz". AGNSW collection record. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  17. ^ a b Deacon, Destiny (1998). "Under the spell of the poppies, from the series Oz". AGNSW collection record. Art Gallery of New South Wales Photography Collection Handbook (2007). Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  18. ^ Munro, Kate L. (7 May 2020). "Why 'Blak' not Black?: Artist Destiny Deacon and the origins of this word". NITV. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Why Blak not black?". Australian Blak History Month for Teachers. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  20. ^ Munro, Kate L. (7 May 2020). "Why 'Blak' not Black?: Artist Destiny Deacon and the origins of this word". NITV. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  21. ^ a b c Marsh, Anne (2010). Look: Contemporary Australian Photography since 1980. Macmillan Art Publishing. p. 32.
  22. ^ a b "Vale Destiny Deacon". Creative Australia. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Vale Destiny Deacon". RMIT School of Art. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  24. ^ Deacon, Destiny (1995). "Me and Virginia's doll". AGNSW collection record. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  25. ^ "Exhibitions / 2004". Salzburger Kunstverein. March 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  26. ^ Alvarez-Chow, Camilla (27 May 2024). "Destiny Deacon, 1958–2024". ArtAsiaPacific. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  27. ^ Russell-Cook, Myles; Presley, Hannah; Croft, Brenda L.; Coleman, Claire G. (2020). Destiny Deacon. National Gallery of Victoria. ISBN 978-1-925432-74-9.
  28. ^ Nelson, Robert (7 October 2009). "Learned, but with a light touch". The Age. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Centenary Medal". Royal Photographic Society. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b Burke, Kelly (27 May 2022). "Bangarra's Stephen Page and artist Destiny Deacon win $50,000 lifetime achievement awards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  31. ^ Weidmann, Ericka (3 July 2023). "Les lauréat·es du Prix pour la photographie du musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac dévoilé·es". 9 Lives Magazine (in French). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  32. ^ Stephens, Andrew (25 March 2020). "The Uncanny Humour of Destiny Deacon". Art Guide Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  33. ^ Russell-Cook, Myles (27 May 2024). "In the light of Destiny: somewhere over the rainbow". National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Crombie, Isobel; Van Wyk, Susan (2002). 2nd sight: Australian photography in the National Gallery of Victoria. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria. ISBN 0724102116
  • Ennis, Helen (2007). Exposures: Photography and Australia. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 186189323X
  • French, Blair; Palmer, Daniel (2009). Twelve Australian photo artists. Annandale, NSW: Piper Press. ISBN 9780975190173
  • Marsh, Anne (2010). Look: Contemporary Australian Photography Since 1980. South Yarra: Macmillan Art. ISBN 1921394102
  • French, Blair (1999). Photo Files: an Australian photography reader. Sydney: Power Publications. ISBN 1864870532
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