Apology to all Australians impacted by the Thalidomide Tragedy

"We are sorry.

We are more sorry than we can say."

The full manuscript.

 

A close up.

Two manuscripts were created. An original and a hand facsimile identical to the original.

Two originals in other words.

This photo was taken before I erased the lines to show the beauty of the gilded letters which were tooled, very softly, with a metal stylus. Hair follicles can be seen.

It is a privilege to be invited to create a manuscript that will remain in perpetuity for our future generations. We all hope that a tragedy such as Thalidomide never happens again in this country.

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP has now signed this manuscript which will be on display in Parliament House, Canberra.

To aid the longevity of such manuscripts my preference is to work on vellum which is calf skin. Such skins, calf, sheep and goat, have been used for centuries to create written artefacts in the form of books in codex form and earlier in some scrolls. Here you can see the soft yellowish tone of the skin which is like velvet to write on. Veins and hair follicles can be seen which add to the overall sublime nature of the skin. Other media used here are carbon stick inks, designers gouache, gum Arabic, gum sandarac, genuine gold leaf on a gesso based size and drawing tools, brushes and dip-in metal pens.

These documents, if cared for will last relatively well intact, quite possibly, forever. That in itself truly is a privilege.