Waymaker: Aunty Joan Cole, 2024, Billboard exhibition. Waymaker concept and curation: Vicki Saylor (Manbarra Traditional Owner). PUNQ 2024 commission. Photograph: Pippa Samaya.
This is one of the ten billboards featuring in PUNQ billboard exhibition which takes place accross Gurambilbarra / Townsville, Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Hinchinbrook to Gudjal Country / Charters Towers.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions or experience as part of our Gudjal Country / Charters Towers Art, Gold and History Bus Tour or Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Hinchinbrook Bus Tour.
Venue Accessibility- The Waymaker billboards are designed for safe viewing while traveling via car or bus.
- Please do not pull over on busy roads or highways to get a closer look.
- Enjoy the artwork from the comfort of your car while adhering to traffic regulations.
- If you see a billboard you'd like to capture for a photo, prioritise safety by pulling over only at designated rest stops or safe viewing areas.
Free.
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.
This is one of the ten billboards featuring in PUNQ billboard exhibition which takes place accross Gurambilbarra / Townsville, Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Hinchinbrook to Gudjal Country / Charters Towers.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions or experience as part of our Gudjal Country / Charters Towers Art, Gold and History Bus Tour or Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Hinchinbrook Bus Tour.
Venue Accessibility- The Waymaker billboards are designed for safe viewing while traveling via car or bus.
- Please do not pull over on busy roads or highways to get a closer look.
- Enjoy the artwork from the comfort of your car while adhering to traffic regulations.
- If you see a billboard you'd like to capture for a photo, prioritise safety by pulling over only at designated rest stops or safe viewing areas.
Free.
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PUNQ respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region; Bindal, Gugu Badhan, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
PUNQ respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region; Bindal, Gugu Badhan, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
PUNQ is produced by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts. The festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. Townsville City Council is a funding partner of PUNQ.