Tuesday 26 June 2018

Nadine Stransen


My dear friend Nadine who died under murky, not satisfactorily investigated circumstances in her housing department flat a couple of years ago. Nadine was a warrior for the rights of all, no matter what their identity, even monogenders, and worked (with Norrie) in NSW parliament to expand early discrimination law so it covers everyone - not just straights and gay men. I painted a big archibald entry of Nadine as a lawgiver (which I'll try to dig up a  link to) which was destroyed or lost in the whole mire of official incompetence and don't-give-a-fuck after her death.

I lived and caroused/campaigned at various timeswith Nadine since we were 18 - we went to a national youth conference when Bob Hawke was PM(and were locked out until he was leaving the building - though we did encounter him in the lift weirdly enough). I painted this from a photo Aaron Manhattan  had on his FB page a few months after she died

Always a star, Nadine has become a celebrity in death, - the ABC used this picture to illustrate a 3 page spread on Nadine in this year's 40 year anniversary Sydney Mardi Gras magazine, and the marshal of the Boston Pride march illustrated her story in their official magazine with a pastel of Nadine's they found on my blog googling her. 

This was one of the few artworks of hers that survived, because she'd given it to me, and it  wasn't destroyed by those bozos who the family had asked to give them all the art in the flat

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