By Dr Billy Gruner
For Hawkesbury residents looking for a meaningful cultural escape beyond the mountains, Bathurst offers an increasingly compelling reason to visit — whether as a scenic day trip from the lower Hawkesbury or an overnight stay for those travelling from the Bilpin, Kurrajong and upper mountain districts. Rich in colonial history and deeply connected to the expansion of settlement beyond the Blue Mountains, Bathurst shares many historical links with the Hawkesbury itself. Now, a major new exhibition at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery is inviting visitors to reflect on those shared histories through the powerful contemporary work of artist Elizabeth Day.
Elizabeth Day’s survey exhibition at BRAG examines the legacy of Empire and the colonisation of Australia and its First Nations peoples. The exhibition focuses on the lasting impact of colonial prison systems and how these institutions reshaped both landscape and society.
The project connects closely to Bathurst’s history as part of a network of colonial prison towns established west of the Blue Mountains. Day has explored these themes in earlier works: in 2023, she presented There’s a Reason Beyond a Reason, 1797 Parramatta Gaol at The National 4 at Carriageworks, Redfern. This large-scale textile installation was made from unravelled second-hand garments and referenced early colonial prison architecture. Through the slow process of unravelling fabric, the work suggested the possibility of undoing the prison’s imprint on the landscape.
The Fragility of Goodness: The Prison on the Landscape and Other Stories continues this investigation. The exhibition considers how the histories of colonial prisons continue to shape contemporary Australia. Day draws connections between historical penal sites including Parramatta and Tasmania, engaging with ideas of layered colonial, geographical and social histories. Her practice is informed by both historical research and personal experience within institutional systems.
A key work in the exhibition, The Law Is Not Always Just, forms part of a new series of grass-grown texts mapping prisons across the Central West. This floor installation sits among several significant works including There’s a Reason Beyond a Reason, Notes on the Castle, the sculptural recreation of Bathurst Gaol’s Lion Gate, Invisible Words Invisible Worlds, and the collaborative community project MYCO LOGIC.
Together, this exhibition invites reflection on systems of justice, power and repair.
