Sancintya Mohini Simpson
Sancintya Mohini Simpson
Working across painting, video, poetry and performance, Sancintya Mohini Simpson shines light on untold stories of indentured labour and its bitter legacy.
A descendant of indentured labourers, Simpson's maternal family heritage has been shaped by migration from South India to South Africa between 1863 and 1911. The artist's works emerge from stories shared by her mother, alongside extensive research drawing on oral testimony and archival records.
Focusing on the colonial sugarcane plantations of the Colony of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa and the exploitation of people labouring on them (the majority of whom were South Asian), the artist finds parallels to the history of 'blackbirding' in Australia. This was a practice, from the 1860s until the early 20th century, in which South Sea Islanders were tricked, or taken by force, to work on the sugarcane plantations in Queensland.
In her practice, Simpson 'addresses the gaps and silences within the colonial archive' to reflect lived experiences of exploitative labour practices, poverty and displacement.
Curator: Megan Robson
Free exhibition guide
Sancintya Mohini Simpson
Sancintya Mohini Simpson
Working across painting, video, poetry and performance, Sancintya Mohini Simpson shines light on untold stories of indentured labour and its bitter legacy.
A descendant of indentured labourers, Simpson's maternal family heritage has been shaped by migration from South India to South Africa between 1863 and 1911. The artist's works emerge from stories shared by her mother, alongside extensive research drawing on oral testimony and archival records.
Focusing on the colonial sugarcane plantations of the Colony of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa and the exploitation of people labouring on them (the majority of whom were South Asian), the artist finds parallels to the history of 'blackbirding' in Australia. This was a practice, from the 1860s until the early 20th century, in which South Sea Islanders were tricked, or taken by force, to work on the sugarcane plantations in Queensland.
In her practice, Simpson 'addresses the gaps and silences within the colonial archive' to reflect lived experiences of exploitative labour practices, poverty and displacement.
Curator: Megan Robson
Free exhibition guide