2008 Update

2008 is nearly gone, and what a busy six months it has been since I last wrote on my Blogg. I am coming to the end of second semester year 2 of my degree at Griffith University South Bank. The longer I am here the easier it becomes. Exams and final assignments are paramount at present, so everything else has to just wait. Only one more year to go to complete my course.

Celebrating Mr Rudd’s Apology to all first Australians
When he delivered the national apology on Wednesday 13th February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also promised practical measures to improve Indigenous lives. There is now debate over what the priorities should be when there are so many areas of disadvantage and dysfunction in Australia's Indigenous communities.
When Mr Rudd addressed Federal Parliament, he said the symbolism of reconciliation needed to be accompanied by substance - the practical measures that will hopefully improve the lives of Indigenous Australians.
Among the targets mentioned were halving the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians when it comes to literacy, numeracy, and employment opportunities, closing the 17-year life expectancy gap and reducing infant mortality rates. The question now being raised is where a good starting point to achieve some of these targets might be.
Tamara Mackean, the president of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association, is optimistic that a bipartisan approach will make a difference.” I think an approach that seeks to just get on with the business is going to be the key to moving things forward." my way to move things forward was to capture this moment on canvas for all Indigenous Australians.
The apology overwhelmed my family and me. The apology meant that the injustices were acknowledged; it was the finest thing that could happen to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples and personally for our family. As an artist I have expressed my feelings on behalf of all first Australians living and those who have passed on. Drawing on the diverse lineages of cultural history and tradition across Australia I considered Parliament House as an important setting for the transformation of attitudes, fostering new dialogues, new engagements and new social and cultural milieus.
This piece of work ‘The Apology’ is conceptually rigorous, with consideration from the desert to the coast, living and past first Australians and evokes communal celebration. It is a balanced piece of artwork where I have taken white symbolism and integrated it with Indigenous symbols. I have incorporated my traditional lands iconic Gulaga Mountain and the most noted icon in Australia, Uluru, in respect for the desert people.

‘To just get on with business’ is a partnership I have established with the Heart Foundation. This celebration painting ‘The Apology’ was specifically painted for the Heart Foundation’s second East Coast Aboriginal Art Exhibition to be held at the State Library of Queensland from Tuesday 7th October to 14th October 2008. Funds raised through the sale of artwork will go exclusively towards funding a Heart Foundation Research Grant to improve the heart health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Six other well known East Coast Aboriginal Artists will contribute outstanding art work to this most worthy cause; Laurie Nilsen, Jennifer Herd, my beautiful daughter Raquel Jackson, Deb Taylor, Peter Mulcahy and Bianca Beetson. All work on display will be for sale and each artist will donate a commission of 25% from each piece sold. There will be a special Art Auction held during the Exhibition Cocktail Party on Friday 10th October. Each artist has donated a piece of artwork with all proceeds of the Auction going to the Heart Foundation.
The Heart Foundation saves lives and improves health through funding world-class cardiovascular research, guidelines for health professionals, informing the public and assisting people with cardiovascular disease. As a charity, the Heart Foundation relies on donations and gifts in wills to continue its lifesaving research, education and health promotion work.
The apology, and the Heart Foundation give a very meaningful purpose to the work I am doing, and is my way of ‘just getting on with business’, reinforcing the statement made by Mr Rudd ‘the symbolism of reconciliation needed to be accompanied by substance’.

I have posted this piece of work on the web site for all to see.

My next series of paintings
I am currently working on a new series of work called “On the Surface”
‘What does it mean to truly understand another person? I believe it is through empathy, the process by which we take the place of another, near or far, known or unknown. Empathy bridges the distance between human experiences, (Black and White) binding us to another in deeply personal ways that reflect our potential for shared experience and compassion. It is with this understanding that I will commit paint to canvas to develop my new series called ‘On the Surface’ it is my aim to have this series completed for my next major exhibition in 2009.

Undurba 30th Anniversary
I have spent the last couple of months working with Marilyn Carson - Undurba Indigenous Liaison Teacher and 75 Indigenous and Non Indigenous Children from Prep to Year 7 in preparation for the schools 30th Anniversary Celebrations. The children have painted their special message on canvas to be exhibited on the day.
It has been an interesting and rewarding exercise for me. There are 17 Aboriginal Children and 58 non Aboriginal Children taking part in the "Thank the Community Art Program". The Aboriginal children have learnt about culture, Aboriginal Art technics and protocols, and the non-Indigenous children have learnt understanding of Aboriginal culture and to have more tolerance through this understanding. The 58 non-indigenous children were chosen because of their artistic ability. The program has been so successful for the children, the Indigenous Liaison Officer Marilyn Carson, is trying to find funding to have an ongoing cultural program in the school for 2009. I have loved working with the children; the outcome has just been fabulous, with a couple of the children destined for bigger and better things with their art ability.


My exhibition at the State Library- 2008 Heart Foundation East Coast Aboriginal Art Exhibition.

The Art Exhibition which celebrates the strength, tenacity and generosity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders communities in taking a stand to join the fight against heart disease.
The Heart Foundation believes that by making real improvements in Indigenous heart health, Queensland can go a long way to closing the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This year there were 6 other artists involved Raquel Jackson, Bianca Beetson, Jennifer Herd, Laurie Nilsen, Deb Taylor and Peter Mulcahy. There was a great selection of art on display and for sale; it just keeps getting better each year. Read the review by noted art writer Timothy Morrell on my web site under what’s new on the home page.

June 2008 Update

I have had a very busy 6 months since I last updated my Blogg. I had my art work excepted for the Pine Rivers Regional Art Gallery Exhibition in May, along with acceptance into The Churchie exhibition. I am making new friends along the way through these exhibitions.

I have a couple of combined exhibitions coming up in the next six months. I will be exhibiting at the Boboa Gallery in Latrobe Terrace, Brisbane on Saturday 21st June, and at the Queensland State Library from the 7th October until 14th October. The State Library exhibition will be raising funds for the Heart Foundation Indigenous Heart Research Programs.

I have signed up to go back to Griffith University in semester two, to finish year 2 of my degree. I have had a short break to sort out my business interests, but now it is back to the grind.

The apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by Kevin Rudd on behalf of the Parliment was a very fine thing to happen earlier this year. Keep your eye open for my latest creation in celebration of this wonderful event. This painting will be launched September 2008.

My Journey Continues - January 2008

My Journey continues – January 2008
At the age of 60 my learning is continuing today through the discovery of Aboriginal culture and life. Through the passing down of stories and life experiences, all are adding to the richness of my understanding. Aboriginal culture is focused on recording the origins of life (Dreamtime). My life’s journey has been one of turmoil, anger and emotional highs and lows. Being part of the stolen generation has taken me from the point of anger for being denied the experience of being Aboriginal, to understanding why these choices were made. This part of my journey left me struggling for some time with my emotions.This loss of culture evoked some of my deepest feelings, to be reflected through my painting of Creation, Warrior Dreaming, Spirit of Innocence and Father Spirit being part of my Celestial Series and my linking to the Dreamtime. In support of the healing process for the generation of Aboriginal children, mothers, fathers and families of the Stolen Generation, I have committed to canvas a series of paintings depicting the lost spirits of Aboriginal Children. The next stage of my journey took me to a different level of understanding of the justice system, touching me to my inner core; where I could envisage what life was like before first contact to what had been endured over the past two hundred years. So profound was the effect on me I committed this image to canvas. I created Aboriginal Lore.These pieces of art have had a profound effect on white Australians who have viewed this work through my exhibitions. The general comment from the public was that it made the viewer feel the same connection to the past as the artist by the way the image evoked their emotions. This artwork also had a profound effect on close and distant family members. Once they saw this work, they realised my deep connection to my Aboriginality, and are now walking with me in support. What does it mean to truly understand another person? I believe it is through empathy, the process by which we take the place of another, near or far, known or unknown. Empathy bridges the distance between human experiences, (Black and White) binding us to another in deeply personal ways that reflect our potential for shared experience and compassion.

We have to know our history; we are people of our generation. We can look back with admiration, and hope to have some of those qualities that help us to remain true to our time. We have to acknowledge the complexities of our generation – our status and our connections. Through the approval of my community and family it has been acknowledged in my art that I have shown the positive of the dreamtime and how it was for the past 60,000years – I have endeavoured to carry on the age old tradition of telling Dreamtime and Historical stories through my art, in a passive mode. My journey into the future will be reflected in my next series of paintings ’Beneath the surface’.