Rohin Kickett - Charlie’s Footsteps, Mt Magnet

‘His name was Charlie Sandstone, and he’s my great-grandfather. He was taken around 1909, and he passed away in 1988 when I was only two. My Dad and my Nana only met him in 1979. They didn’t really know who he was or that he even existed. They finally found that out in 1979. They reached out, and they managed to have about nine years of a relationship with him before he passed away.’

Ballardong Noongar artista Rohin Kickett, traces his great grandfather’s journey from where he was taken from Country at Sandstone and moved to various care stations in Western Australia. Here Rohin concentrates on locations around Mt Magnet which was one stage where Charlie Sandstone was located on his journey away from his family.  The paintings will be on display at Japingka Gallery until 25 March 2025.

The 1905 Act was the policy that gave the authorities the ability to remove the Aboriginal children and place them in missions with the intent of turning them into white people. Charlie was taken from his family when he was five or six years old and sent to New Norcia, a monastery and mission. He was placed into another mission called Magamba. In his late teens, he was moved to Wyalkatchem, a little country town, and that’s where he stayed right up until he was put in a home because he was too old to look after himself.

‘The exhibition is basically aerial representations of the country. I wanted to capture the texture of my great-grandfather’s country. I used palette knives and a lot of thick paint to create that texture and multiple layers. One thing I’ve found is that there are not a lot of smooth surfaces up there. It’s all very, very rough.’

I think it’s a great story about someone making the most of a bad situation. He grew up with nothing. Everything was taken from him, his culture, his language, his identity. I think this exhibition reflects the resilience and strength of Aboriginal people, of this remarkable West Australian, my great-grandfather Charlie Sandstone.

Read

Tracing Charlie’s Footsteps: An Artist’s Journey to Reclaim Family History 2025
Rohin Kickett – Artist Interview 2022
Rohin Kickett – Exhibition Walk Through 2022
The Rise and Rise of Noongar Art
Appreciating Aboriginal Culture vs Appropriation
The Ethics of Collaborative Relationships Around Aboriginal Art