Visitors to the latest exhibition at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA) are greeted by a large coir doormat featuring a quote from former Victorian Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bell. The quote states, "In Australia, the origin of the idea that housing is to be valued primarily as a commodity for producing private wealth is colonisation. It is part of our creation story."

Crossing the mat leads to Gadigal/Sydney-based artist Alana Hunt's exhibition, "A Deceptively Simple Need," which addresses the housing crisis and wealth accumulation in Australia. Hunt explains, "The exhibition itself is about the very genuine need for home that all of us have, but the inherent violence of that when it's on someone else's land. Within a settler-colonial structure like Australia, everyone's home is on Indigenous people's land."

The exhibition reflects Hunt's personal experiences with housing insecurity, historical government narratives about progress, and the broader implications of colonization and Indigenous displacement. One notable piece features a stack of bricks topped with envelopes addressed to property owners. These letters invite owners of multiple properties to consider lending Hunt a home for a decade. "I'm really interested in the way that art can move between people and outside of galleries and into different spheres," Hunt said. "As absurd as it may sound, this letter is probably one of the most realistic paths that I have for stable housing before me."

Hunt's work also includes two rows of Polaroid photographs. The top row displays images of houses, while the bottom row features luxury cars. Curator Jasmin Stephens notes, "Alana is someone who always makes work with whatever is at hand. She's always been drawn to formats that enable you to be creative while you're moving around, and that's something that the Polaroid offers." The two sets of Polaroids are titled "When we win lotto" and "Nice car, can't sleep in it," reflecting Hunt's relationship with her mother and their ongoing housing struggles.

The exhibition also features archival films by Bryan Lobascher, originally commissioned by the WA government in the 1960s and 70s. Hunt has re-edited these films into a new work titled "Displacement and Replacement," which critiques the optimistic portrayal of Australia in the original films. "[The original films] place a lot of faith in technology growth and prosperity, but we ask the question — what is behind that?" Stephens said.

In the center of the gallery, a large light box contrasts vibrant images of Western Australian wildflowers with black-and-white photos of suburban homes being demolished for larger developments. Hunt aims to provoke deeper thought about housing, wealth, homelessness, and the Indigenous land on which these assets exist.

"I think I often make my work primarily thinking of a non-Indigenous audience, so I hope that people can come in here and really feel their way through the many parts of the exhibition and leave seeing the nature of our presence here on Aboriginal land a little bit more clearly," Hunt said.

"A Deceptively Simple Need" is on display at PICA in the Perth Cultural Centre until December 21, and admission is free.