Aleshia Lonsdale

Aleshia Lonsdale is a visual artist, arts worker and curator based in regional NSW. As a proud Wiradjuri woman from Mudgee in Central Western NSW, Lonsdale creates work using a variety of materials including natural and found objects which endeavour to give voice to First Nations peoples. She sees the arts not only as a vehicle for intergenerational cultural transmission but also as a tool which allows the audience to view the world through a First Nations lens. With a strong grounding in Culture and Country her works are influenced by the past, present and future experiences of First Nations peoples with a particular focus on social, cultural, political and environmental issues.

‘Reclaim’ uses baggage and air travel as metaphors for Indigenous reclamation. The work contains the baggage that has been carried in the hold of Country and First Nations bodies, asserting First Nations agency to control the narrative. The work provides an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing trauma experienced by Aboriginal people that is stored in people, place and object, and to participate in domestic baggage reclaim.