Original subtitles

Colby: These are 12 ordinary people with 12 ordinary lives

and we need to persuade them that you loved Claire,

that you would never do anything to hurt her.

Your phone, pin and any passwords.

You need to get out of my room. This is my private space.

You have no privacy while you are a minor,

living under the roof that I pay for.

Ah!

I had an assignment due.

Hope: Did you hand it in? Nah, I missed the deadline.

Maybe this is actually the reason why you keep missing deadlines.

Nathan is pressuring amita to lie.

The way to get justice is to avoid a mistrial.

Stay away from court until we call you.

Corrie: My parents are dead.

What do you reckon about having your entire debt cleared?

All you have to do is secure an acquittal.

Nah, mate, I'll... I'll go to fucking jail. (Laughs)

You've just taken a bribe for information on your jury mates.

Kate Lawson walks free, so do you.

Sam: Belinda bain was a 14-year-old assault victim.

It would be illegal for the press to make reference to that case,

even after 30 years.

She was already dead.

Are you telling me Kate Lawson killed belinda bain?

He made me do stuff.

Stuff I didn't want to do.

It's all my fault!

(Cries)

I've got something!

So, yeah, I know that I fucked up but...

Good girl.

We were taking photos.

It's all my fault.

Doctor kantor, was your lab able to identify the brown substance

found on the corner of Kate Lawson's artwork?

Ah, yes, it was dried blood.

And was it human blood?

Dr kantor: Yes.

And were you able to identify whose blood it was?

We identified two separate DNA profiles.

The one on the right matched with Claire Spears

and the one on the left with Kate Lawson.

Bloom: And what about exhibits o, p and q?

The blood spatters found on the studio work table?

Ah, yes, exhibit o also returned DNA matches for Claire Spears.

Exhibit p matched with Kate Lawson,

and exhibit q matched the dead crow

found in the bush outside her studio.

Did your analysis reveal anything about how that crow was killed?

As you can see in the photos,

these are very limited trace samples.

Bloom: Was there anything else found in these blood samples?

Yes, we found strong traces of sodium hypochlorite.

Bloom: What is that? Yeah, sure.

It's a bleaching agent.

You can find it in a lot of household cleaning products.

But we determined this was not a commercial product.

How did you come to that conclusion?

In commercial applications, it's heavily diluted.

It's about a 3% to 8% solution.

What we found in these samples was highly concentrated, about 12%.

So, what does the presence of highly concentrated bleach in these samples

suggest to you?

That ms Lawson's studio had been thoroughly cleaned

with industrial-grade bleach.

Bloom: And this industrial-grade bleach,

was it found in any other samples in ms Lawson's studio?

Ah, yes, on the wheelbarrow.

Bloom: (Distorted then becomes clear) ..The blood found

in the blade from exhibit l?

Dr kantor: Yes, we did.

Bloom: And was that animal or human blood?

Human.

Bloom: And could you determine whose blood it was?

Dr kantor: Yes, it matched Claire Spears' DNA profile.

Bloom: Did your lab conduct any other analysis

of Claire's blood sample that was found on this particular blade?

We tried to date the sample,

using a technique called, "raman spectroscopic probing."

Bloom: And what did you find?

We concluded that the blood sample could be dated

to within a month of Claire's disappearance.

(Indistinct whispering)

My cousin killed birds when we were kids.

He turned out to be a total spaz.

Trevor, you cannot say that word.

What? Why not?

Because it's offensive.

It's a free country.

He can use whatever word he wants.

He can, and I'm free to tell him it's offensive.

Yeah, look, I know he stresses you out,

but that's what teachers do.

Look, I promise that I will...

No, I told you I've given up.

I know, I don't.

Not even those patches, just the nicotine gum.

Listen, I've got to go back inside.

I promise we can...

We will talk about it in the morning.

(Speaks foreign dialect)

Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you.

It's just the only place outside I can still get the court Wi-Fi.

(Grunts)

You should nap.

If you keep falling asleep in court, they'll kick you off the jury.

Yeah, right.

You ok?

Why wouldn't I be?

Fuck you!

What's wrong?

Nothing.

Thanks.

Cute tatt.

You wouldn't say that if it was your daughter.

Actually, Simon, I would.

Hey, that expert witness,

she didn't say that Kate actually killed that bird, did she?

What other explanation is there?

She might have found it already dead in the bush.

Yeah, yeah.

Maybe she just brought it into the studio already dead,

'cause she was photographing it.

Yep, bringing dead animals home? I don't know that's any better.

What sort of person would use their own blood in their artwork?

Lily: Or their niece's, for that matter.

Just because she's a bit unconventional in her art,

that doesn't mean she's mentally unstable.

Yeah, but for some,

asking Claire to put a bloody thumbprint on her artwork

could suggest a violent, disturbed mind.

Yeah, but you would say that, wouldn't you?

What's that supposed to mean?

Oh, I'm just saying you might not be able to be objective about this,

considering your personal history.

(Door opens) Sheriff: Judge is ready for you.

You're due back in court.

I brought my running gear today.

Judge muir: Mr Colby, we are ready to proceed.

You ok?

Colby: As you please, your honour.

Fuck that guy.

Doctor kantor, in her police statement,

ms Lawson testified to a number of industrial chemicals

in her studio,

explaining that she was experimenting with them

to see how they reacted with photographic paper,

including...

Can we bring up exhibit r, please?

Is that the same chemical

that you found in the blood samples from the work table?

Yes.

And if that bottle spilt,

would that explain its presence in the blood samples?

I suppose, technically, that's possible, yes.

Now did you find any evidence of sodium hypochlorite

on the retractable blade?

That's exhibit l.

No.

So, was no attempt made to clean the blade?

Not that we found.

Is it possible that the blood was put on the blade

at the same time as the thumbprints were made?

Dr kantor: There's no way for us to determine that.

Very well.

Now doctor kantor,

of all the swabs that were submitted by the police to your lab,

how many came from ms Lawson's home?

I would say 90% of them.

What was the other 10%?

We received additional swabs from the passenger seat,

backseat and boot of ms Lawson's car.

Did you find any blood in those samples?

No.

Did you test any swabs from Nathan Spears' home?

Dr kantor: No.

Did you test any swabs from Nathan Spears' place of work?

No.

Did you test any swabs

from the passenger seat of Nathan Spears' car?

No. Why are we talking about Nathan Spears?

I'm sorry, your honour, does...

Does my learned colleague need a moment or two?

I'd hate for her to miss this important line of inquiry.

Madam crown?

On the contrary, your honour.

I was just admiring my learned colleague's line of inquiry.

Thank you, madam crown.

It seems you can continue, mr Colby.

With pleasure, your honour. (Clears throat)

Doctor kantor, did you test any swabs

from the backseat of Nathan Spears' car?

No.

Did you test swabs from the driver's seat of Nathan Spears' car?

Dr kantor: No.

Did you test swabs from the boot of Nathan Spears car?

Obviously, no.

Colby: Why do you say, "obviously?"

I mean, the evidence we were asked to analyse

obviously focussed on Kate Lawson as the primary suspect.

Thank you, doctor kantor.

You've been very helpful.

Colby.

We'll be moving Nathan Spears up the witness list.

Ah.

Yeah, I thought I heard Jenny say something about a shit sandwich.

Well, I figure if we give you the man himself,

you may not need to badger our other witnesses so much about him.

Just doing the best for my client.

And my best is rather good, don't you think?

Did he just wink at me?

..Today's proceedings being a case of the defence,

once again, pointing out the police failure

to investigate Claire Spears' father, Nathan...

(Via television) ..And his possible role in her disappearance or murder.

There's a reason the cops didn't swab your car.

You were never a fucking suspect.

I know that.

Reporter: (Via television) ..And have many media

and legal pundits... How are you this calm?

I got nothing to hide.

Diane's at court every day,

whispering to journalists, spreading lies about you.

..Tomorrow and..

We have to go back. ..Continue for some time.

Ok.

(Laughing) Yeah!

Yeah, she's here! (Screams)

(Laughs)

How was court? (Kisses)

Fucking insane.

Get this.

She used her own blood in the artwork.

Wow. Yeah, and like dead birds and shit.

Ew, no. No, that just reminds me of that Damien hirst artwork

where he put the dead shark in the tank.

Yeah, and then it decomposed.

How is that art?

Like what's the concept?

Activating your gag reflex? Oh!

Wait, so why was she using her own blood in her art?

Beats me. But get this...

Her niece's blood was on there too. Oh!

Oh, that bitch totally did it.

(Laughs) Ah, guys, guys.

Ness isn't really supposed to talk about the case.

Oh, come on. We're family.

Yeah, officially.

Jay was just telling us they got the spermiogram results back.

And?

Gold medal swimmers. (Screams) Yeah!

I mean, not to brag,

but this is some virile semen I'm giving you here.

Yeah, he's got some real thorpeys down there, just like...

Oh!

(Kisses)

(Chuckles)

Well, let's toast to your virility!

Yes! What are we drinking?

Oh, it's gotta be bubbly, right? Like (makes popping sound)...

Ooh, mama, I gotta cram in the bevs

before this virile bastard knocks me up.

(Laughs)

Professor Porter, you didn't Mark my essay.

You missed the deadline, jarrod.

It's an automatic not complete... It wasn't even that late.

If you want to appeal the grade, you have to go through the school.

You want me to go through the uni's bureaucratic bullshit?

Why can't you just do it?

I think it's pretty rich of you to come storming in here

and expect me to fix everything.

You missed three of my lectures

and you didn't submit your essay on time...

Yeah but... And now you're expecting me

to, what, wave a magic wand and make everything ok for you?

I'm just asking for some fucking consideration

for the things that were out of my control!

He bothering you, miss? It's ok.

You know what's bothered me?

Your assumption that I'm bothering her.

Alright son, time to go.

Yeah, I'm not your son.

Get the fuck off me!

Whoa! Jarrod, for god's sake!

Sir, he's not bothering me.

It's ok.

You sure, miss?

Yes, I'm sure.

Off with you, then.

They keep giving me bloody broken remote.

(Speaking in Greek) Hmm?

Papa, which channel?

The footy.

(Speaking in Greek)! Contract.

Where it is?

(Speaking in Greek)

To the Chinese guys, remember?

(Speaking in Greek)? Yeah, yeah.

She's not.

Because she's been dead for eight years, dad.

Fucking hell, Lex.

(Whispers) What do you want me to say?

I'm not going to lie to him.

You don't have to.

Just don't tell him every fucking ugly truth.

It's cruel.

When did you know about this?

Been losing that battle for over a year, Simon.

Alone.

You want parmesan?

Yeah.

Trying to give me a heart attack?

I think your job will do that for me.

Come on.

It's not heroin.

Or pregnancy.

A tattoo is going to haunt her for the rest of her life, em.

Where is she, anyway?

I don't know.

She said something about the Rose and crown?

You let her take the car to a pub?

It's not a pub, it's some shop in Dee why.

Family meeting, tomorrow.

I'm going to have it out with her.

Tomorrow's Thursday.

And?

And I play netball, like I do every week.

Ok, sure, if you want to fight the tattoo war,

I'm more than happy to come home late and sweaty

and tend to the wounded.

Just tell her to come home after school so I can talk to her.

Should I ring your pa to confirm, or...

Hey, guys, just careful getting out of the car, please.

Careful.

Right?

Alice, don't forget your racquet, ok?

You right? Got your drink bottle?

Gabby's picking you up after school, ok?

Child: Bye! (Kisses)

Ok, love you guys!

Bye.

Tahlia, hi.

Sam.

I didn't realise you were the officer on this.

Always good to see you.

You're a solid expert witness. Thanks.

Sam, I don't understand why we can't talk about the dokic case.

I mean, it seems to be extremely relevant to Kate's state of mind

at the time of the disappearance.

Yeah. Ah...

The judge ruled it prejudicial.

When I read the transcripts of the first trial,

particularly the first police interview,

I mean, well, it's clear to me

that she's re-enacting that specific trauma.

Yeah, right.

Anyway, I'll convey what I can.

I hope it helps.

Bloom: Ms Lawson said in her police statement

that she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Could you explain to the jury what that is, please.

Our current definition of borderline personality disorder

is a pervasive pattern of instability of relationships,

image, mood and impulsive behaviour.

Bloom: Does the disorder diminish a person's capacity to reason?

No, I'd say it's more of an emotion deregulation disorder.

But it's important to note that bpd ranges vastly in its severity.

People with this disorder can be extremely high functioning

and these personality types can have very attractive qualities, too.

They're often spontaneous, imaginative, charismatic, creative.

Could you please explain this aspect of the bpd diagnostic criteria,

"intense relationships with idealisation and devaluation?"

Well we often call this phenomena "splitting."

Bpd sufferers will swing between idealising

and being completely infatuated with the person,

and then suddenly hating and vilifying them.

So, would you expect a sufferer to experience

unstable and intense personal relationships?

That's likely, yeah.

Bloom: And what about outbursts of anger?

That's also very likely.

Is there any consensus as to what causes this disorder?

The aetiology is presumed to be disrupted forms of attachment

in childhood and early adulthood.

Individuals with bpd typically suffered chronic forms

of emotional neglect or abuse.

But there is evidence to suggest it is an inherited trait.

Man: Yeah, I don't know...

Yeah, it was like a full-on like killing,

and it was in 'the daily telegraph' for like, for a week.

So, yeah.

I can't believe you guys don't know about it.

I can't even imagine. Poor corrie.

Yeah, it's pretty brutal, hey?

That's an... (Sighs)

That's an awful story

and to happen in her own home, as well.

Garry.

What are you doing?

You shouldn't be telling people that.

Why not, mate? I mean, it was in the news.

You can Google it. And it affects us.

How the fuck does it affect you, garry?

Her parents were offed by a violent psycho.

How can she be a juror in a murder trial?

Have a think about it.

Does anyone other than garry think that I shouldn't be on this jury?

No?

What about that I should no longer be jury foreperson?

Well, I think it could be worth a vote, just to clear the air.

Ok.

Well, farrad, you did put your hand up for it earlier, so...

That's right. Oh, no, no, no, no.

I think corrie's a wonderful foreperson.

I agree. She's been great.

And what about you, garry?

Since you're the one with all the concerns.

Yeah, no, as I said,

I don't think it can hurt to take a vote.

Let's take a vote.

Ok, great, yeah.

Let's vote.

Ok, all in favour of garry replacing corrie as foreperson.

It's ridiculous!

Tea?

Thank you. Come on guys, put your hands up.

Don't be shy. Yeah, come on guys.

If you want to vote me out of this symbolic position

because I'm such a traumatised mess, be my guest.

Ok.

All those in favour of corrie

staying in this completely symbolic position.

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Can we leave it at that?

Lunch, folks.

Keep that up and I'll soon be able to match your pace.

Would you just...

..Calm down?

Sorry?

I don't need you to keep checking in or defending me in there.

We're grown ups. We fucked.

It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

Ok, I get it, yeah.

Uncomplicated.

Good.

(Crying)

(Screams) I need help!

Borderline personality disorder.

I'm sure this is something very few of us here are familiar with.

I'm interested in the terminology here, "borderline."

By "borderline," do you mean, borderline not much of a thing?

Tahlia: It's a recognised condition.

Or perhaps arguable, arguable as in,

I myself have been described as borderline genius,

but that's at best arguable.

(Laughs)

But let's agree that it is a thing.

How common is it?

Well, it's actually the most commonly diagnosed disorder

in Australia.

Really?

It's 4% of the population.

4%?

So, the sufferers of this bpd,

are they more likely to self-harm or harm others?

Well, I don't see a difference between the two.

When you harm yourself,

you're also harming the people around you.

I'd like an answer. Which is it?

Self-harm.

And is this likelihood significant or is it borderline?

It's significant.

People with bpd are at much higher risk of harming themselves.

Hey.

Stand there.

(Giggles)

(Camera clicks)

(Chuckles)

Are these to impress your sleazebag boyfriend?

Shut up! Whoa!

(Screams)

What the fuck, Kate!

(Chuckling)

What? Oh, come on!

It's not fucking funny!

(Chuckling)

Ok, I'm sorry.

(Coughs)

Ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Hey, look, you can push me in.

No, I'm not.

I'm not gonna push you 'cause I'm not a fucking psycho.

Don't, don't call me that.

People with bpd have issues with a lack of self-control.

They're highly vulnerable to act on impulse without much forethought.

So they're impulsive.

Does that mean that they're less likely to have the capacity

to make long-term plans?

I'd say they'd find it more difficult than the average person.

So would ms Lawson's supposed condition

help or hinder her to pull off a planned, complicated murder?

Bpd varies widely from person to person.

I'd say it depends on how well ms Lawson was managing her disorder.

Did you know?

Did you know about the diagnosis?

Of course, I did.

What, and you didn't think it was a good idea to tell me?

It wasn't mine to tell. You left our daughter with her.

I told you she was fucken crazy! Shh!

Why are you still defending her?

Do you even know who she really is?

Yeah.

She's my sister.

(Mellow music)

(Birds chirp)

(Exhales deeply)

Ah!

(Birds chirp)

Ah, it's beautiful.

I can see them. (Chuckles)

Oh, Christ, ma, I'm working on it. (Giggles)

Your Zoe, she's got good genes.

You know the baby's not going to have Zoe

how do you think this works, ma?

What, you think we're going to combine our eggs together?

(Laughter) I don't know!

I can't keep up with how they do it these days.

Yeah, well I can promise you

that medical technology has not advanced that far.

Here you go.

(Birds chirp)

Hey ma, they were talking about this...

..Condition in court today.

Borderline personality disorder.

I mean she had,

she had really bad mood swings, didn't she?

Why do you want to talk about ba ngaio?

I... Look, I just want to know if she...

..I mean, did she ever get a diagnosis?

She ever see, I don't know, a therapist?

Therapy is for white people.

(Tense music)

(Suspenseful music)

Ava!

Ava!

(Pacing music)

(Tense music)

(Hip-pop music)

Hey, how are you doing?

Hey, can I help you? (Ink machine buzzing)

Hey, excuse me! And you must be Joe.

Who are you?

Ava's dad.

One call to the cops

and they will shut this whole underground operation down.

Underground operation, he reckons. What are you talking about?

I'm talking about you tattooing underage kids

without their parents' consent. Hey mate, listen.

This is a licensed venue.

No one else works on Ava.

Oh, yeah, no one but you, right?

Come here.

♪ Opp boy down opp boy down... ♪

Babe.

Babe.

I'm working.

Someone here to see you. (Ink machine buzzing)

♪ We some lads in the hood

♪ raised in that 27

♪ always up to no good aye aye

♪ we some lads in the hood

♪ raised in that 27

♪ always up to no good aye aye. ♪

I come bearing gifts!

Zoe, fuck! I'm doing the dishes.

Someone's shitty!

Well, just try being in a mood when you see...

(Gasp) ..This!

(Chuckles)

They were selling them at that stand by the bus stop.

I just had to.

Isn't it precious?

Yeah, by precious you mean gender nominative.

Doesn't have to be for a girl.

This baby's going to have two sets of flamingly queer parents.

I think we're ok on the gender norms front.

Zoe, if you put that thing on our baby,

I'm gonna fucken strangle you to death with it.

Wow.

I can't talk to you when you're like this.

I'm gonna put out the rubbish.

Um, Vanessa.

Vanessa!

(Bangs cardboard)

(Cutlery clangs)

(Glass shatters) Fuck!

(Breathing heavily)

(Tense music)

(Cries)

Ava, you're not listening to me.

It's one thing you doing this on other people, or as a vocation,

but it's another thing doing it to yourself.

Your brain isn't even fully developed yet.

Ohh! You shouldn't be making decisions

that will affect the rest of your life.

Dad, this is exactly why I didn't tell you.

I won't work there till I turn 18. Then you'll have no say in it.

Happy? Ava, I'm not forbidding it.

Can we just have a conversation about it?

I think it's beautiful. I think it's art.

And you think it's me scarring myself

because what, my brain's undercooked?

There's no fucking conversation to be had here!

Ava, please!

For god's... (Slams door)

Kate: (On laptop) He made me do stuff.

Stuff I, I didn't wanna do.

But I never thought that he was...

..I never thought that he...

..It's all my fault.

Police officer: Why do you think it's your fault, Kate?

Because he asked me to bring her.

(Door opens)

It's barely warm.

It'll be perfect.

Ah.

So she's gonna throw my work up

on those hideous screens again, is she?

Ah, Kate.

She's gonna make me out to be some psychopathic paedophile

that would strangle a child for a photo.

Best be prepared.

Oh, god, this...

..This is a,

a beautiful bird that I found dead in the bush.

So why does that wigged bitch in there

get to turn it into some fucking metaphor for murder?

I think it could work in our favour.

Plus I find your photographs beautiful, mm?

They show your love for Claire.

(Whispers) Maybe we should tell them.

Maybe we should tell them about dokic.

About belinda.

Kate, the judge has ruled it out.

Then how, how will they see it?

The fragile line between flying and falling.

Between succumbing and surviving.

(Whispers) It's just so precious.

Hey, look at me. How?

How will they see? Kate.

I see it.

And maybe the jury will too.

And what if they don't?

Mr bell, how long has your gallery been presenting ms Lawson's work?

We held her first exhibition in 2002.

I have known her a long time.

And do you consider Kate Lawson to be a friend as well as a colleague?

Yeah, I do.

It is an intimate relationship between a gallerist and an artist.

You develop a lot of trust.

Your honour, we would like to pass out copies of the exhibit catalogue

to the jury, please.

Thank you.

If you could take one and pass the rest on, please.

So how long after Claire's disappearance

did the gallery exhibit this series?

About four weeks after Claire's disappearance.

And the series was mainly featuring images of Claire Spears, correct?

Yes, it did.

Was the police investigation into Claire's disappearance

still ongoing?

Well, yes, it was.

And yet ms Lawson was willing to go ahead with the exhibition?

Ah, no. No, she was very against it.

She was distraught,

but I had buyers champing at the bit,

and so I put my foot down

and if I had known then...

..Well in retrospect, it was insensitive, yeah.

In an email exchange the night before the exhibition opened,

ms Lawson asked you to rearrange the display

because of the missing piece.

What does that refer to?

Well, Kate intended to close out the series with one final image.

And that image was?

All I know is that Kate had arranged another photoshoot with Claire

and yeah, for obvious reasons, that never happened.

Indeed.

(Audience coughs)

Throughout this catalogue,

you consistently refer to ms Lawson's work as abject art.

What does that mean?

You know, we use lofty terms like that in the art market.

Please explain the term, mr bell.

Alright.

Abjection is a term,

a concept I believe first coined by the French feminist theorist,

Julia kristeva.

And the concept is?

Abjection describes a moment of existential horror

a person experiences when they are confronted

with their own corporeality.

The finiteness of their human body.

So abject art tries to depict

the existential horror of confronting your own death?

No.

No, not exclusively.

I'd say abject art is,

it draws visceral attention to the body,

which is what ms Lawson's photographs do.

Quite stunningly, I might add.

Mr bell, I'm going to direct your attention to page two

of the catalogue,

where you have written,

"Lawson's latest series is preoccupied with bearing witness

"to the violence of lost youth.

"She renders this through opposing visual languages of corruption

"and innocence, decay and fecundity, death and birth."

So in this series,

ms Lawson was specifically trying to depict violence,

lost youth and death?

Specifically?

Look, there is a degree of hyperbole to that language.

I'm trying to sell the artworks, after all.

Well, in your own words right now, mr bell,

what would you say that the central theme of ms Lawson's series was?

Well, to try to articulate a central theme is to reduce Kate's work.

Like all great art, it is evocative and it is not prescriptive.

It's open for interpretation.

And what was your interpretation of ms Lawson's photo series?

That it was provocative and very beautiful.

(Mellow music)

Is anybody else having trouble eating,

after seeing those pictures?

Well, I think the value of art

lies in the impression it leaves on the viewer.

See that?

And her work clearly left a pretty strong impression on all of us.

I disagree.

I think art should be about creation,

celebrating life and beauty, not death and decay.

Hey, those works are gonna be worth a motser if she gets acquitted.

I'd buy some if I could afford it.

Good investment.

I think she's just working out her issues,

making art like that.

I think it's quite sad, actually.

It's one thing an adult working through her issues,

but Claire was 14 years old.

Adults are meant to protect vulnerable teenagers.

I actually thought her photos were kind of epic.

Well, I mean yeah, they were dark, sad and messed up,

but so is life.

Well, I don't like them.

That's the value of art. It's subjective.

Exactly my point.

It's not about what the artist intends,

it's about your interaction with the artwork.

Mm.

You're not the only one who's read 'the death of the author'.

Yeah, but he seems to have understood it.

(Chuckles) Shit.

Mr bell, could you identify the printouts of exhibit 16, please?

Yes, these are scanned photographs emailed to me by Kate Lawson.

They are lovely shots of the foreshore at night.

When did you receive them?

14 September, 2019.

14 September.

Did Kate Lawson often share work in progress like this?

All the time.

I pride myself on being her first audience.

So, now, did the provocative nature of ms Lawson's work

as discussed before,

did this ever-present any legal issues for your gallery?

Never.

Kate was, and remains, our most commercially successful artist.

What about her use of Claire Spears as a model?

Did that ever-present any legal issues?

God, no.

We're not talking child nudity or exploitation here.

These are fine art photographs.

Now did you know Claire Spears personally?

Of course.

I saw her whenever I went to Kate's studio.

At various events,

sometimes Kate would bring her along to openings.

Mm.

Did you ever get the sense that she was being coerced by ms Lawson

into modelling for her work?

Not at all.

Claire was incredibly precocious,

funny, high-spirited,

often more well versed on the art world than I was.

She struck me as a burgeoning artist herself.

Now, what about potential buyers?

Did they ever express any discomfort with the nature of ms Lawson's work?

Look, I'm not saying it's for everyone.

But art isn't always about making people comfortable.

It is there to provoke, to challenge.

So you're saying ms Lawson wanted to confront people with her artwork?

Look, Kate Lawson is an artist

who powerfully and perfectly creates the illusion of death.

And if Kate were to be convicted,

then she would never sell another piece again.

Is ms Lawson the only artist that you know

that uses bodily substances like blood or dead animals in her work?

Not at all, no.

There are innumerable.

Andres serrano, acclaimed American photographer,

comes to mind.

He famously submerged a crucifix in his own urine.

Then he photographed bodies in morgues across america.

Yes, well as you say, not for everyone.

I was thinking more perhaps of Damien hirst.

So in this context, nothing unusual about ms Lawson's work.

Not in the least.

A bloody thumbprint, a dead crow.

This is comparatively tame in the art world.

So how credible do you find the crown's theory

that ms Lawson became so obsessed with authentically capturing

the moment of death that she orchestrated her own niece's death

for her artwork? It is ridiculous.

The idea that Kate would actually kill someone is pure insanity.

Yes.

Thank you, mr bell.

That's all I have, your honour.

(Indistinct children playing)

Yeah, I got that one.

(Indistinct chatter)

(Laughs)

Bro, hurry up.

Pint and parmy special's only on till 8:00.

Yeah, I'm almost done.

What subject's this for?

Critical theory.

Mm, sounds critical.

So far it's about a bunch of white dudes

arguing about the nature of reality.

Hold on, heidegger?

Didn't you already do an essay on this guy?

No, that was a tute presentation on the readings.

Yeah, so just buff up the word count using your notes from that.

Bro, copy and paste.

Control c, control v. Boom, we hit the pub.

Yeah, alright. Fuck it.

Yeah, yeah.

(Mellow music)

(Mellow music)

(Birds chirp)

(Melancholy music)

Oh, no.

Oh, fuck no.

Fuck no, no, no. Fuck!

(Slams door)

(Cries)

I think the trial is really getting to you.

Pick up, pick up, pick up!

Flip, answer your fucken phone! (Kicks tyres)

(Mellow music)

Yes, I...

..I knew they were underage, but...

..Listen to me. The whole thing was Kate's idea.

Police officer: Why would two 14-year-old girls

go to the house of a 29-year-old man?

We were taking photos.

And you see, Kate brought her around to model for me and fuck.

Yes, we went to bed together, ok?

But when I came...

..When I came back from the bathroom,

she was...

..She was already on the floor.

She was...

..Look I know how this looks.

I know that I fucked up, but I didn't hurt that girl, ok?

I swear it.

I didn't hurt her.

Yes, I knew that they were underage,

but you know,

the whole thing was Kate's idea.

Gentle.

Just take the edge of it.

You got it. Mm.

Back and forward.

I told you. (Chuckles)

You're an artist.

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