JOONDALUP Art Gallery is home to a “very personal exhibition” by Ron Bradfield Jnr as part of the City of Joondalup’s Naidoc Week celebrations.
He told visitors on Monday he left Geraldton in the late 1980s and became a soldier, then a sailor.
“I went to school that didn’t accept Aboriginal students and I came out an angry fellow,” he said.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW“But I had somewhere to put that anger – the military.”
He said the HMAS Westralia was “the ship that most marked my life”.
“It took me on a journey I never thought I’d have an opportunity to experience,” he said.
“I discovered a new me.”
He said the exhibition titled The Making Of Me was “about a time when I could put on another skin and walk around like everyone else”: his military uniform.
It will show at the gallery until July 31.
The opening followed the City’s official flag raising ceremony that included a Welcome to Country from Maar Koodjal (Hand in Hand) chief executive Dennis Simmons, who had travelled from Albany for the honour.
Mayor Albert Jacob said its month-long celebrations formed an important part of the City’s cultural calendar.
“The City of Joondalup is built on land that has an important connection to traditional custodians,” he said.
“The City’s Naidoc program provides an avenue for all ages and backgrounds to expand their knowledge of Noongar history and culture; the longest living culture on earth.”
