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.

Though buried, They echo

Video installation with architectural intervention, perspex, broadcast monitor and single channel SD video, duration 03:59 mins.

This work reframes the voices of policymakers in colonial governments spanning settler-nation Australia and South Africa during the 1940ʼs to 1980ʼs. Featured are Hendrik Verwoerd, Robert Menzies, B.J. “John” Vorster, Johannes Bjelke-Petersen, P.W. Botha and Arthur Calwell. Each politician represents facets of White Supremacy in their respective contexts and their continued impacts.

Though buried, They echo was exhibited in The Purple Shall Govern solo exhibitions at Footscray Community Arts in 2022 and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2023. The work was also the major prize winner in the Footscray Art Prize 2023.

Video documentation by Jody Haines.

A rectangular glass panel set into the dark timber gallery floor, glowing under purple light. Through the glass, timber framing and a sub-floor space are visible, with a small broadcast monitor showing a man- Hendrik Verwoerd- in a suit within reflections of windows and a red-filtered light fixture upon the glass' surface.
Wide view of a purple-lit gallery: a broadcast monitor topped with headphones sits on a white plinth in the corner, faced by two curved white benches, while a glass viewing panel is set flush into the dark wood floor at right. Daylight glows through a screened window at left.
Low view across the glass floor panel toward the corner plinth, where a broadcast monitor plays subtitled footage of Nelson Mandela speaking into a bank of microphones. Timber joists are faintly visible beneath the tinted glass in the foreground, with hints of purple light illuminating the space.
Looking directly down through the glass floor panel into an under-floor archive: timber framing, stacked archive storage boxes and cases of cassette tapes surround a Sony broadcast monitor playing black-and-white footage of a crowd, all washed in pink and purple light.
Close view down through the glass floor: a Sony broadcast monitor in the under-floor space plays footage of a grey-haired man-Joh Bjelke-Petersen- in a suit being interviewed, the image tinted magenta. Purple reflections of the gallery's window blinds streak across the glass.

Roberta Joy Rich, Though buried, They echo, Footscray Community Arts, 2022. Photo's by Jody Haines.

Two children kneel at the edge of the glass floor panel, peering down at the Sony broadcast monitor below, which shows a bespectacled man in a suit- Arthur Calwell. Reflected pink window light fills the glass around them.

Roberta Joy Rich, Though buried, They echo, Footscray Community Arts, 2022. Photo by Gianna Rizzo.

Detail through a tinted glass wall: a Sony broadcast monitor shows archival footage of a figure at a podium before a crowd- John Vorster- glowing warm pink, while reflections of tall purple-lit windows float across the glass surface.
A long horizontal viewing window cut into the gallery wall near floor level, surrounded by purple-washed plaster. Behind the glass, a rough service space with metal shelving struts holds a Sony broadcast monitor playing archival footage of a man in a suit seated at a desk- P.W. Botha- resembling an official televised address.

Roberta Joy Rich, Though buried, They echo, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2023. Photo by Dan McCabe.