Michael Snape The Voice

The Voice to Parliament proposes an independent, representative advisory body for First Nations people to the Australian parliament and government. Michael Snape, a second-time finalist in the Wynne, addresses the Voice in this work.

This is the sound of the Voice that has been speaking to me for nearly 250 years, nearly a quarter of a millennium.

I have been reluctant to listen, distracted by the task of finding myself in this place.

I have been reluctant to hear the Voice even while all that time the Voice was speaking, singing, waiting for me to hear it.

The Voice doesn’t shout. It draws you in, and, as you listen to it, you find yourself more at home. You may have run here, but from this place you will not need to run away.

This work is the shape of my listening.

Michael Snape, 2023