Sentinel

'The "Sentinel" pays homage to past ancestors who fought to protect Lutruwita (Tasmania) and the present-day cultural warriors who continue to fight to protect our home' Vicki West, 2016

West's armour represents a sentinel or soldier whose job is to stand guard over the landscape and it encourages dialogue as regards the ‘second dispossession’ of Tasmanian Aboriginal people from the Cape Barren reserve following the Second World War to make way for new soldier settlement blocks and of their exclusion from this scheme.

Sculptor, weaver, installation artist, curator and teacher Vicki West (b.1960) lives and works in Launceston, Tasmania. A descendent of the Trawlwoolway people West was first introduced to working with kelp when she participated in a cultural workshop with Community Elders in the early 1990s. Since then she has become the most recognized Australian artist working with the medium. West draws inspiration from her country in north-east Tasmania and her artworks explore the impact of invasion, government policies, land rights and social justice issues. Her sculptures and installations often appear ancient and fragile yet they resonate as strong contemporary statements that are illustrative of the resilience of her people and symbolic for the survival of her community.