Bound for Botany Bay is a unique description of Australia's convict period. Prizewinning artist J.D. Shearer's gallery of impressions, meticulously researched, makes a telling comment on this fascinating period of colonial times.
The paintings are accompanied by excerpts from writings of the period. Whether a passage from a ponderous House of Lords report, or the lonely wail of a banished convict maid echoed in a street ballad of the times, the effect is a startling glimpse of life in colonial Sydney Town.
A symbolic character appears in most of the paintings.He represents one of the 128 ancestors of every seventh generation Australian. He's a nagging reminder that these were people - perhaps even distant relatives.
This work is perhaps more compelling for its understatement than its satire. The artist's dry sense of humour and sharp eye for detail are backed by a highly professional skill in his medium.
Bound for Botany Bay has a story to tell in an unusual and provocative way.