331-26AS, Adelaide Studio, Ceramic - Glazed, 30 x 30cm
osina's ceramics tell the Maralinga story. Maralinga was the site of British nuclear tests in the mid-1950s that covered an area of 3,300 square kilometres across the remote north of South Australia. The effects of Maralinga were severe and have had lasting impacts on the Anangu people whose lives, lands and livelihood were destroyed. “Maralinga hurt our lands and people and our story needs to be told,” said Josina.
Josina recounts how the Maralinga story is within all her people and that “we think about it all the time. Why did this happen to us?” Nearly 70 years on the damage still informs the lives of Anangu people on the APY Lands. Josina’s uncle Yami Lester was blinded by the nuclear testing and her grandparents often spoke about the impacts of the bombing and how so many people lost their land, homes and lives. Notably the welts and burns people suffered.
Josina hand built this pot. The red represents the fires the bombs caused and the grey represents the smoke. The texture and detail on the exterior of her pot conveys story of the smoke and how it travelled and stretched across the APY Lands.
