This exhibition draws on a series of portraits produced as part of DENIED, a current and ongoing research-led project that responds to miscarriages of justice through a series of intimate paintings. Utilising the humanising agency of paint, Parra renders sensitive works from face-to-face sittings and invites us to reflect on these lives forever changed.
In collaboration with metropolitan and regional communities, and leading legal scholar Dr Robert Moles, Sky Parra depicts those wrongfully convicted of serious crimes across Australia and those that actively advocate for justice. Uniting with existing legal advocacy, this project brings new understanding and awareness to this nationally urgent issue.
Included is John Button, who was imprisoned at Fremantle Prison after being wrongfully convicted of the manslaughter of his girlfriend after she was murdered on his 19th birthday on 9 February 1963 by serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke.
