Aboriginal art, Gawura Gallery director Lloyd Gawura Hornsby says, tells stories – and the artworks in the latest exhibition tell those of Indigenous artists from around the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Exhibition with Friends, which opened on Wednesday, is the Gawura Gallery's first all-Aboriginal show, with more than 50 works.
"People should come see it because it's part of their culture, part of their heritage,” Mr Hornsby said.
“It's storytelling; it's colourful; and it's educating others – not just white people, but black people, too – about Aboriginal culture.”
READ ALSO:
Some stories are political. Mr Hornsby's themes include works about reconciliation, or the move from Aboriginal lore to British law, bringing with it incarceration, black deaths in custody, parched land, dried-up creeks, and smog in Sydney.
Des Mullion's paintings of snakes and goannas express his feelings on incarceration and liberty.
“It's taking modern day happenings or events,” Mr Hornsby said, “and showing people how you can take what's happened in your life, put it on canvas, and produce some lovely art.”
Other stories are about people and places, or spirituality. Mr Hornsby's subjects include his grandmother's garden and her pet carpet snake; his thoughts on creation, and the birth or death of a star; and his Yuin tribesman the elder Burnum Burnum, the first Aboriginal to gain a degree.
Deb Taylor's paintings and pottery draw on Eastern and Middle Eastern Stone Age religious iconography, connecting 8,000-year-old French goddesses and Indian symbols with Aboriginal art from the Central Desert.
Guyra artist Brian Irving painted birds, yabbies, and country, while Ronald Campbell's works tell dreaming stories, showing spirits that protect animals.
Exhibition with Friends runs from Wednesday June 6 to Monday July 23. Admission is free. The artworks are for sale.