Dorothy (Tudley) Delaney was the elder sister of Michael Riley's close friends, John and Raelene, and an administrator at Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative where Riley shot his Portraits by a Window series. She went on to work with various Aboriginal community organisations, including The Settlement, a neighbourhood centre run by the University of Sydney in Darlington, as a youth worker and in drug and alcohol outreach for Aboriginal teenagers.
For the photo shoot, Riley requested that Delaney wear 1920s period clothing, rather than her usual leggings and t-shirt. In the photograph she wears a dark dress and hat, with a crucifix hanging around her neck. The cross became a recurring motif in Riley's later work, particularly in his 1992 photographic series Sacrifice.
Purchased 2013
© Michael Riley/Copyright Agency, 2024
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Linda Burney, Brenda Croft and Darrell Sibosado share memories of Michael Riley and his photographic practice.
Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.
