NAIDOC week projection work by Reko Rennie on the north face of Central Station’s clock tower, marking 50 years since the 1967 referendum. 2–9 July 2017, 6pm–midnight each evening.

Artist's statement: "In 1967, a Federal referendum was held asking Australians whether two references in the Australian constitution which discriminated against Aboriginal people should be removed. One of the references slated for change stated that ‘in reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal (sic) natives should not be counted.’ 90.77% of respondents voted for change—the highest YES vote ever recorded in a Federal referendum. The YES font featured in this work was used in advertising and promotional material prior to the referendum during a period when momentum for political change within Indigenous affairs was growing."

"My camouflage pattern exploits the vulnerability of visual perception and its subjective relationship with meaning. It usually attempts to render the visible invisible by disorienting our eyes and employing the art of disguise. This work plays with layers of patterning, colour blending and contrasting areas of intensity and flatness in order to turn the traditional role of camouflage on its head. My use of camouflage aims to amplify, rather than conceal my identity, and to stake claim to a luminous, commanding form of cultural visibility—to be counted."

Reko Rennie is an interdisciplinary artist who explores his Aboriginal identity through contemporary media. Through his art, Rennie provokes discussion surrounding Indigenous culture and identity in contemporary urban environments. Largely autobiographical, his commanding works combine the iconography of his Kamilaroi heritage with stylistic elements of graffiti. Merging traditional diamond-shaped designs, hand-drawn symbols and repetitive patterning to subvert romantic ideologies of Aboriginal identity.

Reko Rennie, Visible Invisible, 2017. Installation view of projection onto Central Station clock tower, Sydney. Photo: Greyspace.

Reko Rennie, Visible Invisible, 2017. Installation view of projection onto Central Station clock tower, Sydney. Photo: Greyspace.

Reko Rennie, Visible Invisible, 2017. Installation view of projection onto Central Station clock tower, Sydney. Photo: Greyspace.