Jack Charles (1943–2022) was a revered Wiradjuri, Boon Warrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta Elder, activist, actor, musician and artist. A Stolen Generations survivor, Charles used his creativity and humour to share honest truths about the impact of government policies on his community, and was a tireless advocate for First Nations people caught up in the prison system. As an actor he co-founded Australia’s first Aboriginal theatre ensemble Nindethana and had roles in various television series and films including The chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Blackfellas, Tracey Moffatt’s Bedevil and Mystery Road. From 2010–18 he toured with his one-man show Jack Charles versus the Crown, which won a Helpmann Award, and in 2020 he released his memoir, Jack Charles: Born Again Blakfella.
Rod McNicol met Charles in the early 1970s and made many portraits of his friend over the years. When this portrait won the 2012 National Photographic Portrait Prize, Charles described it as ‘a fresh look at me: you can see the whites of my eyes instead of them being bloodshot. You can see this man is beyond reproach, a self-proclaimed Elder in his own right now’.
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2012 Winner
Purchased 2013
© Rod McNicol
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