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The University of Sydney Law School鈥檚 curated the justiceINjustice exhibition which brought together three lawyers and seven artists to present instances where the criminal justice system has, apparently, failed. Through research, discussions and meetings with impacted families, the artists presented impactful works that explore high-profile cases of wrongful conviction, wrongful detention, excessive use of police force, failures to bring perpetrators to account, and deaths in custody.

One of the works, Richard Lewer鈥檚 Never shall be forgotten 鈥� a mother鈥檚 story, responds to the deaths of young Aboriginal men in custody.

In 1983 in Roebourne, Western Australia, 16-year-old John Pat was gravely injured during a fight with off-duty police officers and he later died of his injuries in the police lock-up. The following year, the police officers were acquitted of his manslaughter by an all-white jury.

With Lewer as narrator and guide, his animation relates the story from the perspective of John Pat鈥檚 mother, Mavis. John Pat鈥檚 death, as a juvenile in police custody, was a catalyst for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1987鈥�91) that investigated the deaths of 99 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Arising from the royal commission were recommendations targeted at the practices of correctional and law enforcement authorities.

The theme of systemic failure in detention and the dereliction of the duty of care continued with Corinne Brittain鈥檚 installation,听STRANDED (I have done nothing wrong)听critiquing the treatment of Cornelia Rau.

Ms Rau, a permanent Australian resident, was wrongfully detained in a Queensland prison and then at the notorious Baxter Detention Centre in South Australia while suffering from mental health issues. Throughout her wrongful detention, including solitary confinement, it was reported that her recurring mantra was 鈥淚 have done nothing wrong鈥�.

Brittain鈥檚 work of rusted wire mesh and red cotton twill, developed in consultation with the Rau family, reflects on the frustrating 鈥榬ed tape鈥� and 鈥榖uck-passing鈥� that characterised this disastrous incident. Her work also invites us to pause and consider our ongoing treatment of those in our immigration detention facilities.

The exhibition also drew attention to investigative failure in the cases of three young women from Newcastle who disappeared in the 1970s and whose cases were never treated as suspected homicide or investigated adequately by police at the time.

justiceINjustice听challenged all the artists on a number of levels, in terms of the curatorial directive to create work outside their usual practice, in the confronting nature of each case, and in the need to be sensitive and respectful to those involved in great trauma.

鈥淪everal of the artists reported initially feeling extremely daunted by the task of sifting through and interpreting legal materials and arcane text, and in holding discussions with grieving family members,鈥� explains curator and criminologist Dr Carolyn McKay.

鈥淎s one artist stepped into the unfamiliar territory of coronial inquests, police integrity investigations and criminal procedure, he described the project as one of the most engaging and rewarding and simultaneously, the most difficult.鈥� None of the commissioned artists had previously worked in collaboration with lawyers. While the lawyers came to the project from a discursive world, the artists focused on materiality, sensoriality and intuition to produce work that is both creative and critically engaged.

The first-hand experiences, illuminating back stories and insights of the three lawyers, sparked creative concepts and responses. The resulting works reveal alternate perspectives of these public interest cases, as well as tangible and immersive means for understanding injustice.

justiceINjustice听was curated by artist and criminologist Carolyn McKay from Sydney Law School and produced by Jessi England in collaboration with The Lock鈥慤p. Featured artists included Corinne Brittain, Rob Cleworth, Blak Douglas, John A Douglas, Leah Emery, Lezlie Tilley and Richard Lewer. Collaborating lawyers include Ray Watterson, Robert Cavanagh, and Karen Wells.

The justiceINjustice exhibition was recently awarded the Museums & Galleries of NSW IMAGinE Exhibition Projects Award for galleries with two or less, paid staff members.