Rebecca Ray: Making Do

In Rebecca Ray’s Making Do, bedazzled food sculptures speak to colonial and socio-economic impacts on food security within First Nations communities. Sacralised with rhinestones, these pantry cupboard staples and fast foods acknowledge the resourcefulness of mothers and resilience of families in retooling imposed colonial foods as a method of survival. Across the five Wonder Cupboards, Ray’s glimmering sculptures reflect tenderly on memory, care and the everyday labour of making do.

About the artist
Rebecca Ray is a Meriam woman descended from the Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islands and is both an artist and First Nations curator. Her art practice spans across printmaking, fibre and sculpture and draws upon her personal lived experiences, childhood, family history and broader socio-historical narratives. Rebecca's practice is concerned with rematriation, the Blak matriarchy and the role of motherhood. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (History and Sociology) from Griffith University, Queensland and has a research background in decolonisation, identity politics and intersectionality.