​Les Griggs - Artist

George Victor Lesley Griggs was born on the 29th of July 1958 to Gwendoline Lovett and George Griggs. 

A Gunditjmara man, he followed in the tradition of his ancestors the fighting Gunditjmara, however he fought with his art. In his words, 'hitting them in the eye' with the images he painted.

 

Les told the story of his incarceration long before the term stolen generation came into being. He was placed in childrens homes at the age of two which began a long period of institutionalisation that lasted for 21 out of 28 years before he finally completed a sentence he had initially received at the age of fifteen.

 

Tragically Les took his own life on the 14th of December 1993 after a long struggle to overcome the result of intergenerational trauma. He always strove to educate non Indigenous Australians about his peoples dispossession and the long term effects of colonisation on the first peoples of Australia.

 

He had been out of goal for 8 years when he died, breaking the cycle of recidivisim that is common for people who spend much of their early life in institutions.

 

This was a victory, and along with his part in the emerging movement of Victorian Aboriginal artists in the early 1980's, provided a legacy for many young Indigenous people to follow.