PAUL BONG | 'Conspiracy of Skeleton Creek (Red)' | 2026 | Hand coloured intaglio etching | H 770 x W 530 mm

The Conspiracy of Skeleton Creek is a meditation on truth, loss and the endurance of memory, and an act of remembrance. The work explores ancestry, the echoes of history and the stories carried by those who remain connected to Country. The work refers to the places known as Skeleton Creek and Skull Pocket in Far North Queensland, places held within Aboriginal family memory as sites of profound suffering and loss; part of a living inheritance connected to family, Country and the stories passed down by those who witnessed the consequences of colonial expansion. The shield speaks to protection, strength and cultural identity, its broken state reminding us of the disruption experienced by Aboriginal families through violence, dispossession and the denial of their histories. The skull is more than a symbol of death, it is a reminder that those who came before continue to exist through story, Country and the descendants who carry their names. Within The Ghost of Lani Mulgrave Blair, the broken shield becomes a doorway between past and present. The spirit of Lani moves through these histories, not as a ghost trapped by suffering, but as a presence carrying truth forward. He represents the continuation of family, culture and love beyond the moments that attempted to break them.

PAUL BONG | 'Conspiracy of Skeleton Creek (Red)' | 2026 | Hand coloured intaglio etching | H 770 x W 530 mm