Designed to linger in your head, this piece centres on an older migrant, a man with no fixed backstory, on purpose. It nudges you into your own assumptions, where’s he from, what’s he seen, why did he leave, what did it cost him?
A small kangaroo badge is pinned to his shirt, a quiet nod to Australia’s “inclusive” story, refuge, opportunity, and the gap between the slogan and lived reality. Made in Brisbane City, the work leans into that tension, the way we size people up fast, then call it truth.
His expression stays playful, curious, still open to the world. The suitcases hint at everything he’s carried, memories, lessons, losses, and the few things we decide are worth keeping when we start again.
From a lifetime of making Art, Mike’s skill set is broad as is his range of creative influences. His driving passion for creating stemmed from an early love of comic books and cartoons and later developed to the influences of action sports, urban and rural landscapes, people and wildlife, concrete and culture.
