Sandra
Hill is a female, Australian Nyungar Aboriginal artist whose work explores issues of race and
belonging. Hill was taken away from her parents at age seven and placed in an orphanage and
raised by non-Aboriginal foster parents. Such policies and practices, often called child
removal, were formerly very common in Australia, and her mother and grandmother had lived
through similar experiences. In addition to creating art works that explore these themes, Hill
has written and spoken about the effects of growing up so far removed from her family and
heritage. The title references self-questioning about identity; many of the children were
biracial and sometimes grew up not knowing they were Aboriginal.
On the left
side of the painting is a light gray background with a dark gray silhouette of a figure wearing
a dress, resembling a drawing that might be found in a childrens book; this resemblance
encourages the viewer to identify the figure as a female child. On her torso is a large
question mark, which instead encourages the viewer to question that identification and, by
extension, all assumptions they might make about the figure.
On the right
side is a brown background and another figure with the same silhouette but in tan with a brown,
snake-like design covering the entire figure. In colors and style, this figure suggests the
Australian countryside, where many Aboriginal people live, and the motifs and styles that
Aboriginal artists often use. The snake design suggests the Rainbow Serpent sacred to Nyungar
people; it also resembles a road or path, suggesting travel or the distance between a family and
the removed child.
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