THE PRISON TREE

This famous tree is still living and estimated at 1500 years old.  But it has a sad history.  Aboriginal people were chained together and locked inside its hollow trunk at night - brought out again next morning to work unpaid for ‘white fellers’. it’s in the North of Western Australia.  I’ve painted it from memory and included my feelings about the wonderful landscapes of the Kimberley including the beehive silhouettes of Purnululu. I contrasted the wild Kimberley colours with the somber black tree - still standing and symbolising a history we still strive to learn from.