At the time of writing, his work hangs in the Art Gallery of NSW in both the Archibald and Wynne prizes which are arguably the most famous portrait and landscape awards in Australia.

His paintings always have something to say about social justice, often with irony and humour playing an important part and with his Aboriginal identity central to his work. 

He’s won several awards and has been finalist in many others including three times in the Archibald prize and his work is held in various public collections including the National Gallery of Australia.

His grandmother, Clorine Morthem,  was one of the stolen generation, taken at 13 years of age and institutionalised in Cootamundra Girls home, something that has had repercussions down the generations. 

His father’s ancestors are the Dunghutti people from northern NSW and his mother was from an Irish Australian background. Although his name given at birth is Adam Hill, he took on the name Blak Douglas in recent years to reflect those two sides of his ancestry.

I spoke with him in his Redfern studio which he shares with other artists and this conversation starts at an earlier time, when his parents first met.

Press play under the feature photo above to hear the podcast episode.

Scroll down to see a short video of Douglas in his studio.

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