Blak lik her: Remembering Destiny Deacon

Blak lik her launches a new Artist Room series at NGV that invites audiences to take a closer look at individual artists. Destiny Deacon (1956–2024) was an internationally acclaimed artist known for her nuanced and provocative work. Over three decades, she challenged viewers with deceptively simple images that blend comedy with tragedy, surrealism with documentary, and melancholy with mania.

In 1991, Deacon first exhibited Blak lik mi, a photographic triptych that marked the beginning of her journey to reclaiming and redefining her identity. This work features Polaroid images of an Aboriginal girl and references Axel Poignant’s misappropriated 1957 photograph from the book Piccaninny Walkabout, which was later reproduced as kitsch decoration. Deacon’s work exposed dualities central to her experience, often featuring dolls and family in surreal scenes that metaphorically comment on real-world violence.

By altering the spelling of ‘BLACK’ to ‘BLAK’, Deacon asserted her identity on her own terms and created a universal term that has since been embraced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Deacon, an outspoken Blak lesbian, collaborated with her life partners, Lisa Bellear and Virginia Fraser, throughout her career. Her work remains a powerful critique of cultural stereotypes and a testament to her unwavering commitment to self-determination. Her legacy, described by Hetti Perkins as one of a ‘blowtorch intellect’, continues to inspire and challenge audiences to confront the complexities of identity, culture and history.

This space is dedicated to the memory of Deacon, and her incredible contribution to the arts in Australia and internationally.