Altered State: A conversation with James Newitt

One of the most vivid memories from my school years was the arrival of two new students. They were a brother and sister from Sudan. Growing up in a rural town on the outskirts of Sydney’s suburban sprawl, the cultural diversity that defined its suburbs had yet to infiltrate my town’s population – one that remained largely Euro-centric with links to Australia’s colonial settlement or the waves of migration that followed the World Wars. Their arrival brought with them a new reality of Africa. A knowledge of the second Sudanese Civil War that had been raging since the year of my birth but which had remained largely outside of mainstream reportage. Through a shared language of youth, they both quickly made friends, and initial impressions were dissipated for the normality of school life. This is to simplify the process of assimilation.

Buy   or   Subscribe   or   Login
National Gallery Australia NAVA Mandorla Art Award Art Gallery of Western Australia Samstag