Cole’s work often references her life story and experiences, such as her Wadawurrung heritage, the importance of
Christianity in her life, and the impact of politics, the law and other power structures on her lived experience and that of her family and community. Her artistic practice questions the way people circumscribe and misconstrue contemporary identity and experience.
Early works Cole's first major work which came to public attention was
Heart Strong (2007), an exhibition at the
Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne. This work focused on the media's portrayal of Indigenous communities. Cole also photographed elite Indigenous sportsman for the calendar
Men in Black. Cole's portrait of boxer
Anthony Mundine,
Do you like what you see, won the Boscia Galleries Award for Photography at the Victorian Indigenous Art Awards. Cole's approach to art includes the use of
video,
text and
installation as well as
photography.
Not Really Aboriginal (2008) Cole's
Not Really Aboriginal is a series of photographs including portraits and group photographs in which the faces of the subjects are
blackened with paint.
Not Really Aboriginal explores Cole's Indigenous identity and heritage, and the ways in which they are questioned by mainstream society due to Cole's fair complexion.
Sista Girls (2010) Sista Girls is a 2010 photographic series which focuses on the
Yimpininni, a community of
transgender women in the
Tiwi Islands,
Northern Territory. Cole travelled to the
Tiwi Islands in far north
Northern Territory to shoot the
Sista Girls after previously photographing Tiwi Island drag performer Foxxy in 2008. This work with Foxxy was shortlisted for the
Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. A portrait from the series,
Ajay, won the 2009 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards
Deadly Award. In this work, Cole explores aspects of
Indigenous identity and culture, and how that is reconciled with transgender identity with the influence of
colonisation. ==Other activities==