Rod Moss - One Thousand Cuts

Anna Pappas Gallery is pleased to open One Thousand Cuts – an exhibition by acclaimed artist and author Rod Moss.

One Thousand Cuts is Moss’ first major retrospective exhibition in his hometown of Melbourne, featuring key works from his personal collection, spanning from 1987 to present.

Moss was awarded the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-fiction in 2011 for his first memoir The Hard Light of Day. Moss will launch his second memoir, One Thousand Cuts: Life and Art in Central Australia in conjunction with the retrospective.

Arriving in Alice Springs in 1987, Moss has lived and been involved in the Indigenous camp Whitegate on the eastern fringes of Alice Springs for almost three decades, forging close ties with the Aboriginal community there.

His work depicts the people of Whitegate in extraordinarily personal, vulnerable and private moments. Moss’ narrative paintings show gritty scenes in which the impact of booze and violence are unflinchingly placed front and centre, however he depicts tender moments too, showing cultural milestones and family rituals.

The works are challenging and confronting. “The paintings have consistently raised commentary,” Moss says, “but I have a strong sense that the work provides a window into camp life and its scale, pitch and narratives, while confrontational, dignify the lives of my friends.”

One Thousand Cuts offers a rare insight into the lives of the Indigenous people of Whitegate and Moss’ work will once again lift the profile of their plight.