Photograph of Deborah Mailman in The 7 Stages of Grieving

Agnes Love photographed actor Deborah Mailman during her highly acclaimed performance of The 7 Stages of Grieving at the Space Theatre in 1997. She has superimposed Mailman in two poignant scenes that capture the emotion of her performance. Love grew up near Wellington, on the River Murray, under the repressive laws applied to First Nations families in the 1960s. As a First Nations artist, she is well attuned to the lives, loves and pain endured by the women represented in this play.  

Loves' photography dramatically reflects the sentiment of The 7 Stages of Grieving and resonates with the closing poem: 

You know there has always been this grieving,

Grieving for our Land, our families.

Our cultures that have been denied us.

But we have been taught to cry quietly

Where only our eyes betray us with tears.

But now, we can no longer wait,

I am scared my heart is hardening.

I fear I can no longer grieve

I am so full and know my capacity for grief.

What can I do but... perform.

These are my stories.

These are my people's stories.

They need to be told.