Friday 2 - Sunday 18 August 24 hrs

Waymaker: She was our Black Angel

Vicki Saylor & Pippa Samaya

Waymaker is a captivating art exhibition that celebrates the wisdom and strength of First Nations Elders of North Queensland using the ubiquitous and popular mode of commuter advertising, the billboard. Conceived and curated by Vicki Saylor and brought to life by photographer Pippa Samaya, Waymaker transforms everyday billboards into powerful platforms. Each billboard showcases a unique portrait co-created with the Elders themselves, reflecting a defining aspect of their life story and their immense contribution to our region. 

The story of Aunty Joan Cole - She was our Black Angel is told by one of the children she took care named Florence Onus:

“When I was 5 years old, my two siblings and I were forcibly removed from our mother and sent to Carramar Children’s Orphanage in Townsville for a short time where we eventually got fostered out to a white woman. As a child, this was a traumatizing and confusing experience as you cannot really tell what is happening and for what reason. One of my few memories was the first night we went to sleep in our identical little beds, all in a row, in the dormitory.  As the lights went out, all you could hear was children sniffling and crying for our mothers and families. The room was dark, when all of a sudden, the door swung open and all I could see was the silhouette of a beautiful young black woman, in her starched white uniform and nurses cap, walking quietly into the room. She sat down on one of the beds to comfort a child and motioned for us all to come over to her, where she comforted each of us, and gently told us everything would be fine. As a child I thought she was our special black angel, who was sent to comfort us all. I will never forget that moment… Aunty Joan was 22 at that time and went on to comfort hundreds of children black and white over 30 – 40 years of working there”. 

This project is commissioned by PUNQ and has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Festivals Australia program.