Award winning Indigenous Artist Wayne Quilliam launched two major exhibitions this week. "Towindri" (Where we walk) opened at Qubbet el Ghouri, Al Azhar in Cario on
December 10 following the opening of "Lowanna"(Beautiful Woman) series of art nudes at the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne on the 8th of December. "Towindri" represents Quilliams visualisation of these stories and the connection Aboriginal people have with the earth in particular when culture co-exists with nature. Each and every story has a
"connection to country" a spiritual essence or "religious" overtone from the past and the future. Patterns and textures of the earth are prevalent in both traditional and contemporary Aboriginal Art and storytelling. Wayne Quillima has been a Premiere Portfolio Member at absolutearts.com since 2001.
View more of and purchase Wayne Quilliam's work at absolutearts.com http://www.absolutearts.com/waynequilliam
The "Gagudju" people of Kakadu believe "Warramurrungundjui" the creator spirit left the sea and gave birth to the people and land they now occupy. She carried with her a digging stick and a dilly bag holding yams and waterlilies, she planted the food and created waterholes with the stick. She
was then joined by other creator spirits who shaped the land, rivers and ocean and once seeing her creation completed turned herself into a rock. The Creation or Dreaming stories are in essence the fabric of Aboriginal culture and the earth.
Patterns and textures of the earth are
prevalent in both traditional and contemporary Aboriginal Art and storytelling. Quilliam radically alters the perception of Indigenous art as he emotionalises
the bond between humans and the spirits of the earth with his "Lowanna" images. Quilliam's world and iconography is replete with irreverent metaphors exploring spirituality and sublime nature with a profane point of view. By
manipulating the human form with abstract images he seemingly impregnates his photographs with an essence of life and spirituality. Whilst creating these artworks Quilliam contemplated creation, belonging and
love, exploring his humanity and what it means to be an Aboriginal man, why he
was chosen to create these images, what is the purpose. He finds an unexplainable and compelling need to immerse himself in his passion, to tell a story, to explain his vision, to highlight the beauty of our earth and the
role we play. The creation of this work has been a unique journey; each piece
has a story, an experience that is as intriguing as the artwork itself. The
images are born of the earth and the spirits that inhabit it, the influence
from a benevolent higher power is embedded within the artwork at every level.
Traditional Aboriginal stories and tales have influenced the artist's work to
become increasingly intense, mysterious, and probing.
Quilliam explains,
"To interpret my work is akin to demystifying the link between myth and
reality, the process of covering and uncovering the human element of nature;
to find depth, meaning and perhaps even a revelation that we are the vision of
a 'creator'. I am intrigued by the differing perceptions of nudity and
the role it plays in modern society.
"I am in a unique position; my professional career has a distinct influence
on my creative energy. When working in rural and remote areas of Australia
and overseas I have the opportunity to experience the intricate designs
'Mother Earth' has created for us and the many stories behind them."
Wayne Quilliam is considered one of Australia's most prominent Aboriginal
photographic artists with more than 130 solo and group exhibitions in
Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA including the National Gallery,
Artistry/Nellie Caston/ Rushcutters Bay/ Grenfell galleries and the Sydney
Opera House, Parliament House(Canberra) and numerous Australian and
International Festivals.
"Lowanna" features in exhibitions in Japan, Germany and Russia is many
works are included in the permanent Australian Embassy Collections in several
countries. He travels the globe as an Australian Art Ambassador most notably
at the Cumbre Tajin Festival in Mexico and recently in Guam and Indonesia.
"Lowanna Emergence" was opened by the European Union Ambassador at the
Museum of Young Art in Vienna, Austria as a part of the "Global Art" series, Quilliam was the only Australian artist invited to participate.
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