Deaths in custody and Tane Chatfield back in the spotlight

SITA Tompkins uses art to express her feelings but a recent work has helped one NSW family deal with their immense loss and grief.

The mother of the late Tane Chatfield, 22, who died in custody late last year, travelled from Armidale to meet the student artist (International Grammar College), Sati Tomkins of Year 12 and see the portrait she painted of her son for the first time.

SITA Tompkins uses art to express her feelings but a recent work has helped one NSW family deal with their immense loss and grief.

The 17-year-old International Grammar School student selected social justice and human rights as her major work for Aboriginal studies.

Delving into cases of deaths in custody she stumbled upon the story of Tane Chatfield who died while in custody in September last year.

International Grammar School student Sita Tompkins presents her artwork of Tane Chatfield.

He spent almost two years on remand at Tamworth Correctional Centre and was due to appear in court for the final day of his trial when corrections officers found him unresponsive in his cell. He died two days later. His family continue to call for answers, saying the circumstances leading to his death are unclear.

“I saw the issue and the lack of recent media attention, so I thought it would be a good topic to focus on,” she said.

Sita knew she wanted to paint Tane, and decided to incorporate news clippings of his story into the canvas work.

“I have always been a creative person, that’s just how I express myself,” Sita said. “The first step was getting permission from Tane’s family.”

International Grammar School student Sita Tompkins meeting the mother of Tane Chatfield.

Sita contacted his mother Nioka through Facebook. Nioka couldn’t believe a complete stranger had taken such a great interest in her son’s death. “I think they were happy to get more attention because it has been brushed aside,” she said. “There had been a few recent stories but my project was going to bring it into the spotlight again.”

On the night of the presentation, Sita invited Tane’s parents and grandparents, who live in Armidale, to witness the painting’s unveiling.

Twenty of Tane’s family and friends attended to see him remembered and to meet the student who had taken an interest. “It was very emotional, everyone was crying,” Sita said. “They told me it was powerful and moving to see a young girl paint their son and make a statement about his death.”