Published on Thursday, 23 October 2025 at 10:10:46 AM
A deeply personal new exhibition by First Nations artist Cim Sears will open at the Albany Town Hall on November 7, exploring identity, survival, and the enduring strength of a mother-daughter bond.
Titled MOTHER, the exhibition takes audiences on a journey between Sears and her First Nations mother, who was taken as a baby during the Western Australian Government’s child removal policies.
Through photography, printmaking, ceramics and painting, Sears reclaims her mother’s stolen identity and reimagines their shared story — one shaped by resilience and love.
Cim Sears reflects on the work as both an artistic and emotional process.
“MOTHER contemporises a journey of reclaiming and reimagining my First Nations mother’s stolen identity and how our lifelong relationship became a complexity of dreamlike scenarios, of startling discoveries and an extraordinary life together,” she said.
“Utilising her unbridled passion for growing flowers and her love of nature, I have used images of her birthplace in the Western Desert and of her flower farm in the South West to create a stark contrast to her grim childhood in State institutions during the policies of child removal and State servitude.
“From the ashes of an abject beginning, my mother’s spirit prevailed and she miraculously made a life for herself against all odds.”
City of Albany Manager Arts & Culture Paul Nielsen said Sear’s exhibition is a profound addition to the Town Hall’s 2025 program.
“MOTHER is an incredibly moving and important body of work that speaks to truth, memory and love,” he said.
“Sears’ practice invites audiences to witness intergenerational experiences that are both deeply personal and universally human.”
Cim Sears completed a Master of Visual Arts by Research at Edith Cowan University in 2020 and has exhibited both locally and internationally. Her multidisciplinary practice draws on her Indigenous ancestral connections and the landscapes of the Western Desert.
An artist talk will be held at the Albany Town Hall on Saturday, November 8 at 10.30am, offering visitors the chance to hear directly from the artist about the stories and processes behind her work.
MOTHER will be on display at the Albany Town Hall from November 7 to December 6, 2025.
Back to All News