Screen printed canvas | Collaborative work | Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct

The Truth in Print series is a bold collaborative series created by artists from the Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct in Far North Queensland. Using humble studio dropsheets stretched onto canvas, these works transform everyday materials into powerful visual statements carrying words that hold deep meaning for community and culture: Always. Respect. Truth.

Screen printing has long been a tool of resistance, visibility, and collective voice. In this series, the artists reclaim that process, layering it with the values and stories that guide First Nations communities. The repetition of words across the canvas becomes more than text — it becomes rhythm, chant and declaration.

Each work is printed onto dropsheets that once lay on the studio floor, catching the overflow, test prints and colour remnants from many projects. These surfaces hold the memory of the creative process itself. By stretching them onto canvas, the artists transform these working materials into something intentional and enduring — a foundation layered with history, labour and collaboration.

The works remind us that Aboriginal people have always been here, that respect for Country, culture and one another is essential, and that truth is necessary for healing and moving forward. Contemporary in form yet grounded in legacy, the series speaks to the past while asserting presence in the present.

Created by Philomena Yeatman, Michelle Yeatman, Edna Ambrym, Valmai Pollard and Simone Arnol, Truth in Print is the result of many hands and voices working together. The works carry the spirit of collective making — a statement of identity, resilience and unity, and an invitation to reflect on the power of language and the enduring truths held within this Country.