The British royal family are interconnected with my own family history. My great-grandfather Albert Namatjira met Queen Elizabeth II in 1954, and he was awarded the Queen’s coronation medal. The royal family even own some of Albert Namatjira’s watercolour paintings.
For me, the canvas is a setting where I can combine the past, the present and possible futures, and I can put myself – as a proud Aboriginal man – at the front-and-centre of a situation where we would usually be out of sight.
In my paintings I’m on equal footing with the royals - I’m part of their royal balcony photo shoots, I climb on top of the Queen’s carriage, I share a cuppatea in the palace and I return the favour by offering the Queen some bush tucker - maku (witchetty grubs) and tjala (honey ants). I’m still waiting on my invitation to visit Buckingham Palace for real though…
