Blak Douglas:
The Halfway Line

A Mid-Career Survey of the Pioneering Aboriginal Artist

The Halfway Line is a survey exhibition that traces the expansive and incisive career of First Nations artist Blak Douglas. From his early interest in graphic art and design, through to his award winning portraiture, Douglas has maintained a passionate interest in foregrounding the histories and lived experiences of Aboriginal Australians. For Douglas, art is a powerful, striking means to affect real and symbolic change.

Blak Douglas was born Adam Douglas Hill in Blacktown in 1970 to a Dhungutti father and Scottish mother. In many ways, the first ‘half’ of Douglas’ life as an artist has centred around Western Sydney, studying at the University of Western Sydney, before realising his first commercial exhibition in the industrial estate of Jamisontown, Penrith.

Since the mid-1990s, Douglas has established a reputation as one of the most visible, vocal and consistent artists in Australia, amassing a body of work that spans painting, photography, drawings, sculpture, major public artworks and performance.

However the influence of Blak Douglas should be considered as much greater than this individual outputs. For over thirty years, Douglas has used his public persona and platforms to raise and address social and political realities, especially for Aboriginal Australians. And in many ways, his dedication was manifest and recognised in his Archibald Prize winning portrait of fellow artist, Karla Dickens.

The Halfway Line takes this milestone as an opportunity to reflect and reconsider from the artists perspective, the significance of his career and the enduring impact that Douglas has had on generations of Australian artists.

Featuring loans from major institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, as well as recently commissioned works, the Halfway Line is the largest single presentation of Douglas’ work ever, presented in the artist’s hometown of Western Sydney.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born Adam Douglas Hill in Blacktown, Western Sydney to a Dhungatti father and Caucasian mother, Blak Douglas carries English, German, Irish and Scottish ancestry. The moniker ‘Blak Douglas’ was conceived in 2014 to honour his dominant First Nations and Scottish genealogies. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Sydney Nepean in 1994, he shifted his focus from his training in illustration and photography to become self-practiced in painting, with his style largely driven by politics, social justice, and a hint of irony and sarcasm.

Blak Douglas won the Kilgour Prize in 2019, the STILL Award in 2020, and the Archibald Prize in 2022. He has exhibited extensively, including at the 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia, TARNANTHI festival in Adelaide, and the Aboriginal Art Museum Utrecht in the Netherlands.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

AUTUMN SUITE EXHIBITION OPENING, SATURDAY 22 MARCH,  6pm

All welcome, free entry. RSVP to gallery@penrith.city by Wednesday 19 March

ARTIST TALK, SUNDAY 23 MARCH,  11AM

Join exhibiting artist Blak Douglas in conversation with curator Djon Mundine for a discussion on the ideas behind the exhibition, The Halfway Line. Free

OPEN DAY, SATURDAY 31 MAY, 10AM – 2PM

A family-friendly day filled with free art-making activities, tours and more.

NAIDOC WEEK, MONDAY 7 JULY – FRIDAY 11 JULY

Full Program coming soon. Free

Supported by Penrith City Council, Penrith Performing & Visual Arts, the NSW Government through Create NSW, and TLE Electricals.