Showing at the Counihan Gallery in Brunswick as part of the Moreland Summer Show 2021, History and Heritage is the first print work I have made in a while, and the first artwork I have made about my own cultural heritage. Why Don’t I Sing In German? was printed with bratwurst sausages, and in-painted with German folk designs.
The artwork is a playful reflection on my German heritage – and my complex feelings about my background. I was a bit embarrassed about being half German when I was growing up in Australia.
The text is inspired by a comment from a Swiss German friend in Melbourne; I used to sing in a Mexican serenading group, in Spanish, and she asked me why I didn’t sing in German. This artwork is dedicated to Suzanne Weiss.