Still Here by Gosha Heldtz, 2024

Transcript

This work consists of 18 similarly sized works, acrylic on card, measuring approximately 60cm high by 42cm wide, with one art piece measuring 64 centimetres high by 51 centimetres wide. They are displayed across two adjoining white walls in a corner of the gallery. On the left-hand wall, there are 3 rows of 3 and on the right hand wall are also three rows of three, displayed in a grid like pattern. All of these works are orange in colour except for one which is blue.   

The figures on each card are shown with only the head and shoulders and part of the torso on display. There is a uniformity across the display with each figure positioned with only slight variations and drawn with hard straight lines giving the figure’s appearance a block-like quality. A square shape, representing the head, sits in the middle of the canvas with well-defined sharp lines.  At the bottom of the face these lines come in at an angle to a point representing the figure’s chin. Beneath the chin protrudes two vertical lines denoting the neck of the figure which then slope down to the left and right-hand sides to represent the figure’s shoulders. Only this portion of the body of the figure is shown. 

The features of the face are drawn out in black paint with white paint utilised as a highlight, for the pupils of the eyes, the bridge of the nose and the lips. Some of this white paint is also airbrushed in a more diffused way across the forehead, cheeks and torso on top of the black paint. It has the quality of spray-paint. The background of this card on which the figure is painted on is bright orange. The use of black and white paint causes the orange to appear vibrant.  

The background of the card on which the blue figure is painted on is made of blue card. The blue card background is a brighter blue than the darker blue-black quality of the figure’s skin. The blue painting, which is slightly larger than the rest of the works, is located in the bottom row, in the second position from the right.  A steady wide-eyed gaze is held by all of the figures shown, with lips pursed and controlled facial expressions. 

Still Here is a series of airbrushed portraits of Blak faces, each gazing out to the audience. This body of work emphasises the resilience and enduring presence of Aboriginal people who continue to show up in a society that often fails to serve them. The repetition of these faces becomes a visual echo, representing generations of Blak people who have been and continue to be impacted by colonialism and the patriotic culture it breeds. This tension between Indigenous identity and colonial patriotism is core to Heldtz’s practice which is present throughout all her works.     

Gosha Heldtz is a Gomeroi artist who works predominately in sculpture and painting. Originally from rural NSW, she moved to Sydney in 2021.

For more information about Gosha’s work, visit gallerylanecove.com.