My creative practice takes place on the lands of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri Woiwurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and families, acknowledging their deep and ongoing spiritual connection to Country. I extend my respects to Wathaurong Waddawurrung peoples, whose lands I was birthed and raised upon that have deeply shaped me and my experiences.

I acknowledge Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri custodianship of the lands, waterways and skies that I continue to live, work and benefit from, recognising that sovereignty was never ceded. I come with an intention to deepen my understanding of ancestral pathways as a diasporic being, while sharing, learning and creating on unceded lands (Melbourne, Australia).

I extend this acknowledgement and pay my respects to peer African and Indigenous peoples across the globe viewing this website.

The Purple Shall Govern - Footscray Community Arts

Footscray Community Arts, Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country - Footscray
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20 Jan - 27 Mar 2022

What are the conditions of power in public spaces? How do they inform our ontologies, presence and permissions of movement today?

The Purple Shall Govern is a new major work that aims to reveal the slippery nature of borders and their embedded presences, inviting us to navigate and consider our relationships with histories that have residually informed the ways in which we move within public spaces.

Roberta Joy Rich presents a series of new installation works that hopes to act as a catalyst for recognition, reflection, resistance, and release. Through a process of reframing moments, affirming stories and anarchiving materials The Purple Shall Govern considers the duality of boundaries that have informed resilience and the unyielding nature of people and publics.

The Purple Shall Govern was presented by Footscray Community Arts as part of Who's Afraid of Public Space? in partnership with the Australia Centre for Contemporary Art.

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Wide installation view of a gallery illuminated by saturated pink and purple light, with two small framed photographs on suspended white walls and archival documents displayed in clear cases on white plinths.
A small black-and-white family photograph in an ornate gold frame, showing a group of adults and children gathered closely together, displayed on a wall washed in pink light.

Cousins gathering in Cape Town, South Africa, 2022. Framed digital C-type print on lustre paper (reproduced archival photograph, date unknown).

Close view of an ornate gold frame containing a archival family photograph of several African people seated together on a hillside (Signal Hill, Cape Town), surrounded by a wide white mount and purple gallery lighting.

Foto geneem op tafelberg van Rhoda, Joy, Faith, Mummy en Daddy, 2022. Framed digital C-type print on lustre paper (reproduced archival photograph, date unknown).

Installation view of Roberta Joy Rich’s 'The Purple Shall Govern,' with the exhibition title on the wall, framed photographs, archival objects in clear display cases, and purple-filtered windows casting magenta light throughout the gallery.

Installation view of The Purple Shall Govern, 2022. 47 windows with 797 'deep purple' lighting gel.

An open, handwritten booklet - a dompas - displayed beneath a clear acrylic cover on a tall white plinth, surrounded by suspended gallery walls and purple light.

Dompas, issued January 1959. South African Government Reference Book, perspex vitrine.

A South African identity card bearing a black-and-white portrait of a woman, displayed upright on a clear stand inside an acrylic case and illuminated by pink light.

Aunty Thelma's Identity Card, issued March 1960. Plastic laminated identity card, perspex vitrine.

Wide installation view of a darkened gallery bathed in purple light, with curved white seating, headphones, video equipment, and a glass-covered opening in the floor arranged around a large luminous window.
Multimedia installation view with a large flatscreen monitor on a tall stand showing aerial footage of a crowded street and subtitles reading “[whistling and crowd noise] [water canon spraying].” Curved seats with headphones and a low screen occupy the purple-lit gallery.

Purple Rain on September 2nd, 1989. Single channel SD video, 08:47 mins. The South African History Archive (SAHA) is the custodian of this media.

Installation detail showing a freestanding monitor playing aerial footage of a crowd, with a large horizontal screen lying near the floor beneath purple-filtered windows and theatrical lighting.
Upward view through tall gallery windows covered in purple film, with the dark silhouettes of tree branches and a cloudy sky visible beyond the vertical window frames.

Detail of The Purple Shall Govern, 2022. 47 windows with 797 'deep purple' lighting gel.

Installation view of curved white benches arranged beside a glass-covered opening in the dark gallery floor, with a small vintage video monitor positioned on a white plinth near a brightly lit window. The gallery has hints of magenta light throughout.
Low, wide view of a rectangular glass-covered opening set into the dark gallery floor, revealing timber supports below and a small video screen showing a man in a suit- Hendrik Verwoerd, while reflecting purple-filtered windows, and a glowing magenta light.

Though buried, They echo, 2022. Video installation with gallery floor intervention, single channel SD video, broadcast monitor, perspex, pine. 03:59 mins.

Close view through the glass floor into the archive below, where a vintage Sony broadcast monitor displays black-and-white footage of a man-Johannes Bjelke-Petersen- speaking, surrounded by papers, storage boxes, and vivid purple reflections from long purple windows.
View through a glass-covered opening in the gallery floor into an archive storage area containing timber supports, document boxes, shelves, and a small vintage Sony broadcast monitor playing black-and-white footage, overlaid with reflections of purple windows and lights.
Installation view of a vintage Sony broadcast monitor with headphones on a white plinth, positioned beyond a glass-covered opening in the floor. The monitor and purple gallery lighting are reflected across the glass, with purple light filling the gallery.
Close installation view of a vintage Sony broadcast monitor on a white plinth, showing archival footage of a young man- Dr. Gary Foley speaking. Headphones rest on top, with a cable trailing down the side in the pink and purple-lit gallery.

Pigs might fly too, 2022. Single channel standard definition video. 05:45 mins. This artwork was created with archival footage courtesy of The Aboriginal History Archive.

Wide view of a gallery space bathed in purple light and multimedia installations, with curved white listening benches and headphones arranged across the reflective dark wood floor. A low horizontal screen, vintage broadcast monitor, glass floor opening, and purple-filtered windows fill the gallery.

Installation view of The Purple Shall Govern, 2022. 47 windows with 797 'deep purple' lighting gel.

Installation detail of two curved white listening benches facing a black vintage portable radio and cassette player on the gallery floor, while vivid magenta light forms diagonal bands across the wall and reflects on the polished floor.

And so the mood was quite intense, 2022. Sound installation with analogue radio and fabricated seating. 14:22 mins. Vocals by Peter Abrahams and Roberta Joy Rich.

A vintage broadcast monitor on a tall white plinth shows archival footage of Nelson Mandela speaking into clustered microphones. Headphones rest on top of the monitor in the purple-lit gallery reflected on the walls and plinth.
Three curved white listening benches arranged around a low, tilted video flatscreen television, with four black headphones, their cables resting across the seats and dark wood gallery floor. Intense magenta light fills the room and reflects upon the benches.

Lunch with the family at Mignon Street, Cape Town, 2022. Audio video installation with single channel HD video, headphones, fabricated seating. 36:33 mins.

Low video screen displaying the name “Golden Brown,” a timestamp reading “00:27:33,” and the subtitle “But we all used to get the same colour paint,” beneath reflections of purple window light starkly contrast against the dark wood floor.
A vintage black portable radio and dual-cassette player positioned directly on the dark gallery floor, connected by audio cables and illuminated by concentrated magenta light.
Detail of a low, tilted screen at the edge of the frame, its glossy surface reflecting the purple gallery windows and casting a deep angular shadow across the dark wooden floor.
Flatscreen monitor on a tall stand shows black-and-white archival footage of a water cannon spraying into a crowded street, positioned in front of a suspended white wall, as purple-filtered sunlight fills the gallery space and forms a long grid across the gallery floor.
Detail of vivid purple window light falling in rectangular bands across the dark wood gallery floor and the curved edge of a white listening bench.
Close view through vertical gallery window frames toward dense tree branches and She-oak tree foliage outside, all transformed into vivid shades of magenta and purple by the tinted glass.

Photo's by Jody Haines.