A new exhibition at Sydney's Numbers gallery displays a selection of Aboriginal protest posters collected by Wiradjuri elder Ray Jackson over five decades. The exhibition, titled Ray Jackson Doing Time with Penrith Miers Archive, runs until 2 August and features posters from the 1970s to 2015.
Ray Jackson's Legacy of Activism
Ray Jackson, a prominent Aboriginal activist, served as the founding secretary of the New South Wales Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee in 1987. He was a regular presence at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy until his death in 2015. His Waterloo home was filled with posters and memorabilia collected from rallies, protests, union meetings, and film screenings over 50 years.
The Penrith Miers Archive is run by Jackson's granddaughter Madika Penrith, a Wiradjuri/Yuin/Gumbaynggirr archivist, and her partner Sam Miers. According to Miers, "Everything was part of his activism, including intimate meetings in his home."
Key Posters on Display
One of the larger posters in the collection, Tall Ships Tall Stories (1987), measures 60cm x 85cm and was created by designer Amanda Holt, photographers Juno Gemes and Elaine Pelot-Kitchener, and artist Tracey Moffatt. It features a quote from Moffatt: "The re-enactment was an insult to the memory of the thousands upon thousands of Aborigines murdered by the invading British."
The poster We Have Survived! White Australia Has a Black History (1988) by artist Peter Chester promoted a 26 January rally. Its central image of men raising an Aboriginal flag was inspired by the Pulitzer prize-winning photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
Focus on Deaths in Custody
Jackson was a trade unionist and communist who attended rallies for working people's rights globally, but according to Miers, "Aboriginal deaths in custody was one of the causes Jackson cared most about." He also established the Indigenous Social Justice Association Sydney, which campaigned to support families of those who had died in custody. The poster We Are Surviving the Killing Times (date unknown) is emblematic of this focus.
The Robert Walker poster (circa 1987) honored Indigenous poet and activist Robert Walker, who died in Fremantle prison aged 25 in 1984. It reads "Secretary: Ray Jackson" in the bottom right corner.
Broader Activism and Community
Jackson's activism extended to international causes, including Palestine. The poster Displacements – Palestinian / Northern Irish / Aboriginal (1983-84) by Merilyn Fairskye and Pam Debenham drew comparisons between oppressions. Numbers co-founder Emma O'Neill noted Jackson saw the Palestinian cause as part of the international working-class struggle.
The Rat Social and Control Conference (1984) poster, screen-printed by Without Authority, promoted a countercultural event at the University of Sydney. Miers said Jackson attended "hundreds" of such events as part of his broader activism.
Other Notable Posters
The Workplace Is No Place for Racism (1985) poster by Redback Graphix was screen-printed in a run of approximately 300, using fluorescent ink that Numbers co-founder Seb Henry-Jones describes as "incredibly vibrant in person."
The We're Family Too poster (circa 1999) by the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations aimed to discourage discrimination within Aboriginal communities against those living with HIV/Aids.
A commemorative poster for Ray Jackson (2015) by artist Mickie Quick shows Jackson wearing "the cap he wore every day," covered with badges of different movements. The cap is also on display in the exhibition.
