Robert Campbell Junior My Brother Mac Silva

With this portrait of fellow Dunghutti/Ngaku man Malcolm ‘Mac’ Silva (1947–89) – lead singer of the bands Silva Linings and Black Lace – Robert Campbell Junior became the first Aboriginal artist known to have exhibited in the Archibald. Campbell and Silva were both born in Kempsey, NSW, growing up on Burnt Bridge Mission, where speaking Aboriginal languages was forbidden, and children were still forcibly removed from their families.

Taught by his father, Campbell made souvenirs from found materials, incorporating his knowledge of the plants, animals and environment on Dunghutti/Ngaku Country. He eventually turned to canvas and painted narrative works, recording stories remembered from his childhood. Campbell’s cartoon-style approach, using bold colours, often belies his weighty subjects: racial discrimination and the historical trauma of colonialism.

Both Campbell and Silva were living in Sydney in the 1980s. Campbell was undertaking a printmaking residency at the University of Sydnet’s Tin Sheds Gallery, and Silva’s rendition of ‘Malabar mansion’ – written by an inmate while in Long Bay jail – was the most requested song on Radio Redfern. Campbell portrays the 42-year-old Silva at his drums, mid song, titles from rock’n’roll and country hits drifting behind him. Tragically, Silva passed away before the portrait’s selection in the Archibald; Campbell died just three years later. The portrait is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.