Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1964, Brenda L Croft is of the Gurindji/Malngin/Mudpurra people. A contemporary artist whose Indigenous-Australian heritage (Gurindji-Anglo/Irish/German Australian) informs her artistic practice of two decades.

Drawing upon personal experience of her early life in Perth where she was born and lived in the mid-late 1960s, alongside broader issues facing Indigenous and immigrant communities during this period of Australian history, 'Peripheral vision' explores the experiences of contemporary Indigenous communities and those seeking refuge from untenable situations in their homelands, through photo-media and installation.

Western Australia, and indeed Australia of the 1960s encompassed vastly different experiences for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, including immigrants, or 'New Australians'. 1960s Perth, prior to the national Referendum of 1967 was a place where Aboriginal people lived under the restrictions enforced by authorities of the day: Pass laws, or 'Dog Tags', city boundary restrictions, fringe camps, and removal of children from their families.

At the same time new arrivals to the state from around the world were 'greeted/accepted' in diverse ways, depending on their country of origin.

Four decades on and has anything really changed? Where is home for those who have been forced to leave their homelands, or no longer know where to call home?

[ To view Brenda L Croft's CV click here ]

Social distance classifications (difference), 2005
Giclée print on hahnemühle paper
edition 1 of 10
84 x 112cm
9243