Collection Details

Name/TitleTravelling Colony

About this object'Travelling Colony' is a dazzling hand-painted caravan that is inspired by Brook Andrew’s Wiradjuri heritage, popular culture and the circus. The caravan is a multi-faceted artwork that compels audiences to see issues of race, consumerism and local history in new and different ways.

'Travelling Colony' was a major artwork commissioned and presented by Carriageworks and Sydney Festival in 2012. Andrew created a cavalcade of dazzling hand-painted caravans in the huge industrial foyer of Carriageworks. Through a whirling zig-zag of caravans, archival footage, reflections and projections, visitors were inspired by the stories and histories of Redfern – its personalities, struggles and community. For three decades this celebrated artist has been creating significant interventions through sculptures, prints, installations and interactive monuments.

The caravan was a key feature of the Blacktown Native Institution project in 2014 – 15, when it was on loan from Gadigal Information Service (‘Koori Radio’). It was used as a safe haven to record personal stories from Blacktown’s First Nations communities about the historical and national significance of the Blacktown Native Institution site.

Blacktown artist, Darren Bell, also utilised the caravan as a backdrop to take a series of photographic portraits of visitors to the site. A range of these portraits were then projected onto the massive silo tower on the site during the Corroboree in 2015.

After the Corroboree, Gadigal Information Service donated the artwork to the Blacktown City Art Collection. In 2017, 'Travelling Colony' was included in the 'Recent Acquisitions' exhibition at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre. In 2015, artists Ernest Aaron and Jamie Eastwood, began restoring the caravan, focussing on the exterior paintwork and replacing broken windows.

MakerAndrew, Brook

Maker RoleArtist

Date Made2012

Medium and MaterialsRe-painted caravan

Place MadeAustralia

Measurements270 h x 420 l x 220 w cm approx.

Object TypeSculpture

Object numberBCC ADW 001