I drew this portrait of an Aboriginal Australian woman on the eve of “Australia Day” (January 26th), which commemorates the arrival of the British First Fleet to Australia in 1788 (thereby marking the start of the continent’s colonization by Europeans). Although widely celebrated by Australians of European descent today, for the Aboriginal population “Australia Day” is a time of mourning since it represents the brutal thievery of their land and the suffering they have received at the hands of the European invaders (it’s similar to what happened to the Native Americans here in the US). This piece is therefore meant to be an expression of solidarity towards the Aboriginal Australian people.