‘The beach was and still is an Aboriginal space’: artist Billy Bain on reclaiming the sand and waves

For his upcoming solo exhibition, the Dharug artist has made 11 colourful clay sculptures that represent a counter-image to the bronzed Aussie beachgoerAs a teenager in the mid 2000s, artist Billy Bain would ride waves around Sydney’s northern beaches, having travelled the world watching his champion surfer father, Rob Bain, compete. But even though he was minutes from his home in Avalon, he was often made to feel an unwelcome outsider.“I’d be told that I’m not from there, so I need to go in [to shore],” he says, seeing these warnings as veiled threats of violence. “Otherwise, you know, ‘something’s gonna happen to you’.” Continue reading...