'ALTONA GATE' (2026) - 153 x 183 x 2.5 cm

Altona Gate (2026)
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
153 x 183 x 2.5 cm
$‎ 14,800

‘ALTONA GATE’ reflects Aretha Brown’s experience growing up in Altona and Melbourne’s western suburbs, surrounded by refineries, factories and power lines. The work asks what Country can mean for an Aboriginal person growing up in an industrial landscape, where native animals and traditional landscapes can feel distant.

Power lines are a recurring metaphor in Aretha’s work. She sees them as a substitute for trees, a reminder of how living things can be cut down, repurposed and removed from their original context. For her, this becomes a metaphor for colonisation.
But the work is also about love, joy and beauty. The bubblegum pink speaks to femininity and womanhood, while the recurring boat-headed figures represent a colonised headspace. Ultimately,

‘ALTONA GATE’ brings together the contradictions of the western suburbs: industry
and community, colonisation and culture, and the unexpected beauty found in both.

______________________
Aretha Brown
Gumbaynggirr Peoples