Download Catalogue (pdf 4.2MB) - Watch Arts
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Toyota Community Spirit Gallery presents<br />
for we are young and free<br />
exploring the diversity of contemporary Australian life<br />
8 August to 26 October 2012<br />
Toyota Australia, 155 Bertie St, Port Melbourne, Victoria<br />
Gallery Hours Mon - Fri, 9am to 5pm or by appointment<br />
Inquiries Ken Wong 0419 570 846
Toyota<br />
Community<br />
Spirit Gallery<br />
The Toyota Community Spirit<br />
Gallery is an initiative of Toyota<br />
Community Spirit, Toyota Australia’s<br />
corporate citizenship program.<br />
Toyota Community Spirit develops<br />
partnerships that share Toyota’s<br />
skills, networks, expertise and other<br />
resources with the community.<br />
The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery<br />
aims to provide space for artists,<br />
especially emerging artists to show<br />
their work. The space is provided<br />
free of charge to exhibiting artists.<br />
No commission is charged on sales<br />
and Toyota provides an exhibition<br />
launch and develops a catalogue<br />
for each exhibition. The gallery<br />
has now shown works by over 800<br />
artists. This project is mounted in<br />
consultation with Hobsons Bay City<br />
Council and the City of Port Phillip.<br />
Football the Australian Way (detail) by Ryan Mullavey, acrylic on canvas 2012
for we<br />
are<br />
young<br />
and<br />
free<br />
exploring the<br />
diversity of<br />
contemporary<br />
Australian life<br />
judge<br />
Andy Dinan<br />
Director, MARS Gallery<br />
Prizes awarded across all mediums for<br />
works which best interpret the theme of<br />
contemporary australian life<br />
$3000 first prize award<br />
$2000 second prize award<br />
$1000 third prize award<br />
We would like to acknowledge the valuable<br />
feedback and support provided by the<br />
following arts community and organisations<br />
in the development of this project:<br />
Sue Roff, <strong>Arts</strong> Project Australia<br />
Fiona Cook, <strong>Arts</strong> Access Victoria<br />
Steph Tout, FIELD<br />
Bianca Rayner, City of Port Phillip<br />
Lee Agius, Amaroo <strong>Arts</strong> Program<br />
Larissa MacFarlane<br />
Kate Geck<br />
IMAGES<br />
FRONT COVER Welcome (detail) by<br />
Liezel van der Linde, mixed media 2012<br />
THIS SPREAD An Urban Industrial<br />
Playground III by Larissa MacFarlane,<br />
collagraph & stencil monoprint 2012<br />
thanks to<br />
Tania Blackwell, Hobsons Bay City Council<br />
Louisa Scott, City of Port Phillip<br />
Toyota Community Spirit Gallery Committee<br />
Katarina Persic, Toyota Australia<br />
Steve Blakebrough<br />
catalogue editing<br />
Ken Wong (watcharts.com.au)<br />
pre press & graphic design<br />
Sandra Kiriacos (watcharts.com.au)<br />
The opinions and points<br />
of view expressed by<br />
participants through<br />
the artworks and<br />
artists statements in<br />
this exhibition and<br />
catalogue are those of<br />
the individual person<br />
or persons and are<br />
not intended to reflect<br />
the position of Toyota<br />
Australia.
ken wong<br />
curator<br />
This exhibition is the 29th in a<br />
continuous program for the Toyota<br />
Community Spirit Gallery since its<br />
inception in 2004.<br />
The title of this exhibition is not intended as<br />
a statement but perhaps more as a question<br />
to be posed about who and where we are as a<br />
nation, a people and a contemporary society.<br />
Advance Australia Fair was originally<br />
written in the late 1800’s by Peter Dodds<br />
McCormick and performed by a choir of<br />
10,000 at the Federation of Australia as a<br />
nation in 1901, before eventually becoming<br />
our official National Anthem in the 1970’s.<br />
The lyric, “Australians all let us rejoice, for<br />
we are young and free” was written in a<br />
different time; but how relevant is it to us as<br />
Australians of today?<br />
One thing is certain; we are not one people,<br />
but many. In fact, in order to truly explore<br />
the diversity of perspectives on contemporary<br />
Australian life, the call for submissions<br />
for this project specifically targeted artists<br />
whose voice is perhaps not always heard in<br />
mainstream society. Over 50% of the artists<br />
participating in this exhibition identify as<br />
someone living with physical, psychological<br />
or intellectual disability or other social or<br />
cultural disadvantage.<br />
To that extent, I am very proud that this<br />
exhibition offers an opportunity for those<br />
voices to be heard on an equal footing with<br />
the balance of other artists, who do not<br />
specifically identify as living with disability or<br />
other disadvantage.<br />
Moreover, I am much more excited than<br />
proud, of the thoughtful, courageous, sincere<br />
and robustly optimistic voice that collectively<br />
speaks through this exhibition to us all of the<br />
nation and the people that we are, and have<br />
the potential to become.<br />
We are, even stretching back to the creation<br />
stories of our original indigenous inhabitants,<br />
a nation of immigrants. And the story of that<br />
immigration is and has always been complex<br />
and at times extremely difficult. But for all<br />
that, here we are; a nation and a people who<br />
has learned how to endure hardship and still<br />
find a place where the miracle of life can be<br />
cherished and celebrated.<br />
Perhaps in this great story of immigration,<br />
it is this place, this timeless land in which<br />
we all find ourselves, that is truly the main<br />
character and guiding light. Perhaps from<br />
it, if we are prepared to listen, we can all<br />
learn the humility of forbearance in times<br />
of difficulty, the joy of celebration and<br />
thankfulness in times of plenty, and the<br />
common sense to realize that it is only<br />
through the honest toil and hard work of<br />
coming together with respect; to value, offer<br />
and share the great gifts we all have as unique<br />
individuals, that we can reasonably expect<br />
to survive and prosper towards our true and<br />
perhaps unlimited potential as a nation and<br />
a people.<br />
Perhaps, in the land of the Dreamtime, there<br />
is still a dream in which we all can share.<br />
Welcome to For we are Young and Free.<br />
Ken Wong is the Director of <strong>Watch</strong> <strong>Arts</strong>, a Victorian based contemporary arts consultancy. He has worked<br />
in the fine arts industry for over 15 years in both commercial and community arts, curating and managing<br />
a host of projects including gallery and outdoor sculpture exhibitions.
exhibitors<br />
08 Pamela Bain<br />
09 Gayle Bodsworth<br />
10 Terry Barclay<br />
11 Iris Bonello<br />
28 Peter Gresham<br />
29 Mary Hackett<br />
30 Jodie Harris<br />
31 Marice Henare<br />
12 Sheila Callaghan<br />
13 Peter Cave<br />
14 Kevin Chin<br />
15 Matthew Clarke<br />
16 Damien Conte<br />
17 Gabriela Crosara<br />
32 Kandria Hogan<br />
18 Sophie Curzon-Siggers<br />
19 Ruth de Vos<br />
20 Christina Di Bona<br />
21 Lynda Dingley<br />
22 Michelle Downing<br />
23 Neville Duncan<br />
24 Mark Farrelly<br />
25 Sai-Wai Foo<br />
26 Jose Consul Gonsalves Jr.<br />
27 Debbi Gray<br />
33 Charles House & Shaun Low<br />
34 Ying Huang<br />
35 Initially NO<br />
36 Sue Jarvis<br />
37 Liz Johnson<br />
38 Larissa MacFarlane<br />
39 Steven Makse<br />
40 Leah Mariani<br />
41 Christina Markin<br />
42 Belinda Mason
43 Aaron James McGarry<br />
44 Anna McGrath<br />
45 Alexander McGregor<br />
46 Jinari Mountain<br />
47 Greg Muir<br />
48 Ryan Mullavey<br />
49 Kathie Najar<br />
50 Clare O’Shannessy<br />
51 Norian Paicu<br />
52 Priscilla Pike<br />
53 Fraser Pollock<br />
54 Frank Powell<br />
74 Leanne Prussing<br />
55 Donna Richards<br />
56 Ignacio Rojas<br />
57 Daniel Savage<br />
58 Libby Schreiber<br />
59 Pamela See<br />
60 The Winged Collective<br />
61 David Thomson<br />
62 SJ Thomson<br />
63 Mary van den Broek<br />
64 Liezel van der Linde<br />
65 Gary Walker<br />
72 Patrick Walker<br />
66 James Wallace<br />
67 Sally Walshe<br />
68 Oksana Waterfall<br />
69 David Williams<br />
70 Joe Wilson<br />
71 Patrick Woolfe<br />
73 Mr Wright<br />
Aurukun Rugby Boys by Belinda Mason, Digital capture & print 2011
pamela bain<br />
victoria<br />
Young & Free, Watercolour, pencil & pastel, 90 x 100cm, 2012, $1700<br />
Australia is known for its ‘wide<br />
open roads’ that traverse the<br />
landscape and many Australians<br />
have experienced our ‘road trip’<br />
culture including myself. Young<br />
and Free is a re-interpretation of the road<br />
matrix around Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.<br />
Maps, for me, represent freedom: like tickets to<br />
new beginnings, new futures. When I moved to<br />
Melbourne from Hobart to pursue my education,<br />
maps became an important tool that helped me<br />
familiarise myself with my new environment.<br />
Even though there are sometimes obstacles to<br />
be overcome, I am thankful that Australia is a<br />
place where travel is encouraged, freedom is<br />
cherished and a pathway to academic pursuit is<br />
available.<br />
Pamela began her schooling in the late<br />
1960s at the Sight Saving School in<br />
Hobart. Diagnosed with hypermetropia and,<br />
glaucoma, she has trouble seeing close<br />
up and at a distance. She cannot drive a<br />
car, and also has trouble reading print.<br />
Overcoming some negative attitudes from<br />
others during her childhood, including her<br />
specialist, Pamela succeeded in achieving<br />
a level of education she was told was out<br />
of her reach due to her disability. This<br />
includes a BA in Fine Art at the University<br />
of Tasmania, two Graduate Diplomas and<br />
a Masters from Melbourne and Monash<br />
Universities. Apart from her studio practice,<br />
she also works as a freelance illustrator<br />
and graphic artist.<br />
08 for we are young and free
gayle bodsworth<br />
new south wales<br />
Nancy Bird Walton<br />
(1915-2009) and<br />
Margaret Olley<br />
(1923-2011) are<br />
Australian icons<br />
who epitomize<br />
the lyrics “For we are young<br />
and free”. Both were born in<br />
country towns in NSW and<br />
made significant contributions<br />
to enriching Australia’s history<br />
and culture throughout their<br />
lives; so much so, they were<br />
recognized as National Living<br />
Treasures. I have endeavoured<br />
to capture them in similar<br />
poses both in their youth<br />
and in their later years, to<br />
try to express to the viewer<br />
that although their outer<br />
appearance may have changed<br />
over the years, the embers of<br />
the spirit of determination that<br />
burned within them in their<br />
youth, continued to warm our<br />
country as they aged.<br />
Country Women, National Treasures<br />
Charcoal on paper & digital media, 2012<br />
POA<br />
Living in a small village in northern New South Wales, Gayle has been a member of the local U3A art group<br />
for about 2 years. Art has become an increasingly important means of communication for her. She finds<br />
producing a piece of artwork that others find interesting a unique and hugely satisfying experience. This<br />
digital exhibit is based on her recently completed first ever work in charcoal.<br />
for we are young and free 09
terry barclay<br />
victoria<br />
The Fading Smile<br />
Carved & painted wood, 76 x 43 x 37cm, 2012<br />
$1500<br />
Whether we choose to<br />
acknowledge it or not<br />
we are all immigrants,<br />
or the offspring of<br />
immigrants. We all<br />
came to Australia<br />
seeking a better life, yet for many<br />
years governments of both political<br />
colouring have chosen to make<br />
immigration and especially the<br />
immigration of refugees a political<br />
platform by distorting the truth<br />
and creating a climate of fear<br />
and suspicion. The warmth and<br />
humanity that was shown in the<br />
past to people and families hoping<br />
to create a better life for them and<br />
their children has been gradually<br />
eroded by the misinformation and<br />
the half-truths fed to us by the media<br />
and our government. When my wife<br />
and I arrived in Australia nearly 40<br />
years ago with 2 suitcases and our<br />
chest x-rays, we were greeted by an<br />
immigration official who smiled at us<br />
when we told him that we had come<br />
to live here. When did Australia’s<br />
smile start to fade?<br />
Terry lives near Frankston but was born in the North of England where he studied design at Bradford<br />
College of Art. After graduating he worked as a commercial artist before migrating to Australia with his wife.<br />
He has worked as a designer in private and public settings including NGV and The State Library of Victoria.<br />
On retirement in 2007, he returned to study painting and sculpture at Chisholm Institute, completing a<br />
Diploma of Visual <strong>Arts</strong>. In 2011 he was a finalist in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture<br />
Award and is currently creating work for a solo show in November 2012.<br />
10 for we are young and free
iris bonello<br />
victoria<br />
Change in my time<br />
Coloured markers & pencils, 24 x 33cm, 2009<br />
$75<br />
Time moved ever so slow in<br />
the past. My world felt safe and<br />
secure, as it was bound with a<br />
chain, each link connected with<br />
family and good friends. The<br />
present time is fast; my world<br />
is no longer safe nor secure. My family are<br />
all gone and so are most of my friends. The<br />
links in the chain have gone, only empty<br />
spaces remain. Time moves even faster<br />
today, rushing me to an unknown future,<br />
but regardless of this I will continue to keep<br />
up because I am free to move on and free<br />
to dream. I find no obstacles when I am<br />
drawing, I feel young and truly free.<br />
Iris was born in 1933 and has enjoyed<br />
drawing since her teen years. She never<br />
studied art but has continued to draw<br />
and has never stopped ‘doodling’ as she<br />
puts it. When a loved one passed away<br />
she discovered she had some skill using<br />
geometry to create different designs. The<br />
concentration on measuring and colouring<br />
became a soothing tool allowing her to<br />
grieve without dwelling too much on her<br />
loss. Despite working with a tremor in her<br />
hand she has created many designs and<br />
exhibited her work at Bundoora Homestead<br />
Art Centre in 2010 and 2011.<br />
for we are young and free 11
sheila callaghan<br />
Drop In Art at Port Melbourne Neighbourhood House<br />
victoria<br />
Roy de<br />
Maistre,<br />
considered<br />
Australia’s<br />
first abstract<br />
painter was<br />
born of French ancestry<br />
migrants fleeing the<br />
French Revolution.<br />
His story is perhaps<br />
reflective of more<br />
contemporary Australian<br />
artists. His work was<br />
unacceptable to the then<br />
current local art circles<br />
fraternity, until his<br />
return from European<br />
exposure, where<br />
contemporary art forms<br />
were more advanced.<br />
Comparative freedom of<br />
new fields was evident<br />
in this artistic family.<br />
My contribution is<br />
influenced by his superb<br />
patterns of flat colour<br />
and design.<br />
Old Boat Shed, North Shore, Sydney<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 41 x 21cm, 2012<br />
NFS<br />
Sheila is a third generation Australian and a self taught painter. Her earliest painting was in watercolour<br />
and she studied pottery for several years while living in Northern NSW. Now working with acrylic paints,<br />
she is a member of the Drop in Art Group in Port Melbourne. She spent her early school years in Victoria’s<br />
Western district, where she was inspired by the large expanses of flat paddocks offering constant seasonal<br />
changes of colour that to this day still excite her and free her spirits.<br />
12 for we are young and free
peter cave<br />
represented by <strong>Arts</strong> Project Australia<br />
victoria<br />
Mick Harvey<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 86.5 x 86.5cm, 2012<br />
$500<br />
Peter’s paintings are frequently concerned with a distinctly Australian landscape, as well<br />
as portraiture. Unabashed in their realism, his work depicts a country and people both<br />
familiar and iconic. From his base in Melbourne, he has exhibited in cities across Australia<br />
and internationally. In 2010 he won the Chapman and Bailey Acquisitive Art Award at Belle<br />
Arti, Metro <strong>Arts</strong> in Brisbane. His work reflects a rich and unique view of everyday Australian<br />
life, evidenced in this portrait of legendary Australian musician Mick Harvey.<br />
for we are young and free 13
kevin chin<br />
victoria<br />
Other side of the fence<br />
Oil on sized, unprimed linen, 150 x 192cm, 2012, $2700<br />
In a country where gay couples can<br />
neither get married nor have children,<br />
this painting presents a longing for<br />
escape into a pieced-together fantasy.<br />
Playing with painterly conventions of<br />
figure/ground, positive/negative, and<br />
foreground/background, you have to write your<br />
own rules when you don’t fit into societal family<br />
norms. Painting delicately onto the exposed linen<br />
calls for a gentle touch that reflects the tenderness<br />
of the life I am trying to build together with my<br />
same-sex partner of eight years.<br />
Kevin was born in Malaysia in 1980,<br />
migrating to Australia with his family<br />
when he was 2 years old. Since<br />
graduating from VCA in 2006 he has<br />
produced four solo exhibitions at West<br />
Space, Linden, Kings, and TCB. His work<br />
was recently published in the book, Safe<br />
Hiding Spot. A finalist in the Metro Art<br />
Award (2010, 2009) and RBS Emerging<br />
Artist Award (2009). Grants include the<br />
City of Melbourne (2010) and National<br />
Association of Visual <strong>Arts</strong> (2010-11).<br />
14 for we are young and free
matthew clarke<br />
victoria<br />
Camping<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 122cm, 2012, $1000<br />
Mathew was born in 1986 and lives in Kirkstall, near Warrnambool in Regional<br />
Victoria. He lives with mild intellectual disability and mental illness but this has<br />
not impaired his pursuit of a passionate career as an artist. He has completed a<br />
Diploma of <strong>Arts</strong> & Craft Design and is currently working on an Advanced Diploma<br />
of Fine <strong>Arts</strong>. He has also produced 7 solo exhibitions and appeared in many group<br />
shows in Warrnambool, Geelong and Melbourne. He is a member of Quarry Art<br />
Studio in Warrnambool and his bold energetic works have been described as a<br />
naïve, action style of painting. His love of the environment and painting comes<br />
together in this piece that references the significance of the outdoors and camping<br />
in Australian history and contemporary culture.<br />
for we are young and free 15
damien conte<br />
new south wales<br />
Universal Bonds<br />
Acrylic & marker pen on canvas, 40 x 40cm, 2012<br />
$350<br />
Damien is a young artist with<br />
autism. He has a limited ability<br />
to communicate verbally<br />
and thus uses painting to<br />
share his inner world with<br />
others. He has spent the last<br />
5 years working with several<br />
local artists in a mentoring<br />
capacity and as a result has<br />
acquired a natural finesse for<br />
acrylic painting techniques<br />
and an understanding of<br />
composition requirements.<br />
This has emerged into a<br />
unique personal style that<br />
often evokes powerful<br />
responses from viewers. He<br />
has won several awards for his<br />
work and has exhibited all over<br />
Australia. Damien works in his<br />
home studio with minimum<br />
assistance. When he is not<br />
painting he enjoys bike riding,<br />
swimming and going to the<br />
gym. He has a weekend job<br />
feeding farm animals at a local<br />
outdoor and environmental<br />
education centre.<br />
There are very many different ways that young people are seen by others in<br />
Australian society, compared with the way young people view themselves. For<br />
young people with disabilities this is perhaps doubly true; they have a very<br />
different view of themselves and where they sit in our society, especially about<br />
their ability to make a valuable contribution. In the very recent past young<br />
people with disabilities in Australia were grouped together in segregated<br />
centres. However, now people with disabilities are encouraged to live life their own way the<br />
same as their peers. This piece represents a new paradigm where people with disabilities<br />
are at the centre of their lives with families and communities all around supporting them.<br />
With this assistance, Damien has been self-managing his government funding for several<br />
years. By having more say in how he wants to live his life he has discovered his passion for<br />
painting and a new direction.<br />
Text by Cheryl Gardner<br />
16 for we are young and free
gabriela crosara<br />
represented by Carinya Society<br />
victoria<br />
Community integration<br />
Posca pen & marker on paper, 68 x 99cm, 2012<br />
$300 framed, $150 unframed<br />
For Gabriela, as an artist with intellectual disability, art is a large part of<br />
her communication. She contentedly works on each artwork for weeks,<br />
painstakingly creating diverse pieces that display a natural affinity for colour.<br />
With time, her self- and artistic confidence has grown which is reflected in<br />
bolder, vibrant pieces. Art has provided Gabby a voice; her art speaks of<br />
hopefulness and optimism, a theme that shines through this work. In the<br />
drawing, a variety of colours and gestures are used, combining flat planes of colour and<br />
texture, plus areas of stipple. Her local communities of Broadmeadows and Coburg are<br />
diverse in culture, and this artwork is a metaphor for how with respect and communication,<br />
variety sits as a balanced whole - every quality has a place.<br />
Text by Samantha Clarke<br />
for we are young and free 17
sophie curzon-siggers<br />
victoria<br />
Hippies use side door<br />
Photography – Neopan 1600 film, digital print (Edition 1 of 2) 32.9 x 38cm, 2010, $180<br />
The sign that directs the less desirable<br />
patrons to a concealed entry confronted<br />
my father (a former hippy) and I (with<br />
camera). A mirror framed our responses,<br />
continuing a theme I explored in a series<br />
of photographs taken at an Equal Love<br />
rally in Melbourne in 2010. The right to protest to<br />
augment the liberties and civil rights of all our citizens<br />
is part of Australian life. Where once people may<br />
have been obliged to follow such direction, now we<br />
are merely faced with our own comical reactions. The<br />
sign, once indicative of concerns about class and social<br />
status, heralds how far we have come.<br />
Sophie is a poet and photographer<br />
whose respective practices are<br />
separate yet siblings of the same<br />
artistic thread. Both seek to<br />
frame an image; to use the visual<br />
in order to transcend the thing<br />
it represents, that something of<br />
its’ universal nature – its’ aliases<br />
and second families – might<br />
be revealed. Sophie lives with<br />
disability caused by a chronic<br />
neurological and immunological<br />
syndrome.<br />
18 for we are young and free
uth de vos<br />
western australia<br />
In this<br />
beautiful<br />
country<br />
we are<br />
privileged<br />
that our children<br />
are free to discover<br />
the awesome world<br />
around them with<br />
full tummies and<br />
without the threat<br />
of war. They are<br />
free to discover the<br />
budding flowers,<br />
snail trails, ripening<br />
fruit, textured leaves,<br />
dripping rain and<br />
floating bubbles<br />
and to delight in the<br />
wonderful world<br />
that God has made.<br />
Observing small<br />
children experience<br />
this for the first time<br />
is a wonderful<br />
reminder of just<br />
how special these<br />
ordinary things are.<br />
It is my prayer that<br />
we may all share in<br />
and learn from the<br />
delight, innocence<br />
and wideeyed wonder<br />
of our children,<br />
especially we here in<br />
this most beautiful<br />
and privileged part of<br />
the world.<br />
Taking It All In #1<br />
Textile, 85 x 78cm, 2011<br />
$900<br />
Ruth was born in 1979, lives in Mount Nasura, Western Australia and is the<br />
mother of 4 children. Her work stems from the historical and increasingly<br />
popular and contemporary practice of quilting. She is one of many modern<br />
practitioners of this traditional craft skill creating international recognition<br />
for it as a contemporary fine art form. Her work involves stitching hundreds<br />
of small pieces of hand-dyed fabric together to create fabric tableaux known<br />
as textile paintings. She has exhibited widely and her works are held in<br />
collections including the Western Australian Museum and private collections<br />
in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States.<br />
for we are young and free 19
christina di bona<br />
new south wales<br />
Christina was raised in Sydney’s<br />
South West in an area dubbed as<br />
“a low-skilled, lower socio-economic<br />
region”. She believes it suffers<br />
from a negative stereotype due<br />
to limited public resources and a<br />
significant amount of migrants living<br />
in numerous housing commission<br />
developments. A 2006 study showed<br />
that 50% of the Western Sydney<br />
area had no formal qualifications.<br />
Despite this, in 2005 Christina was<br />
identified as within the top percentile<br />
of High School Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Students,<br />
and selected for Bodgies, Westies<br />
& Homies a curated exhibition at<br />
Fairfield Museum and Gallery in<br />
Sydney. She was recognised on<br />
the NSW 2008 HSC Distinguished<br />
Achievers List and in 2009 was<br />
selected for exhibition at Port<br />
Macquarie Regional Gallery. Since<br />
then she has been fulfilling demand<br />
for collection of her artworks overseas<br />
including the United Kingdom, Spain<br />
and the United States.<br />
The Same But Different: Self Portrait of My Friends and I<br />
Mixed media, 76.5 x 57cm, 2012<br />
$295<br />
Growing up in Western Sydney, I was surrounded by a melting pot of<br />
cultures and people. My friendship group consists of people who descend<br />
from numerous nationalities and cultures, yet we are all still proud to call<br />
ourselves Australian. Regardless of what country of origin our families come<br />
from, the food we eat or religion we believe, we are all human with the same<br />
goals for our future. Inspired by this notion of “the same, but different”, and<br />
Andy Warhol’s repetitive screen prints, I featured my friends and my own nationality of<br />
origin in something that is used frequently in our daily life, and is quintessentially Aussie;<br />
The Thong. This work is a celebration of not only our diverse cultural backgrounds but<br />
our patriotism towards Australia and the creation of a harmonious multicultural society. I<br />
think it is indicative of the community spirit all over Australia.<br />
20 for we are young and free
lynda dingley<br />
represented by Art Unlimited<br />
victoria<br />
Sisters Merging Together<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 77 x 102cm, 2011<br />
$475<br />
During Dreamtime, our land was<br />
undamaged and pristine. Now, many<br />
of the immense forests that once<br />
existed are gone and many animals<br />
have become endangered species<br />
or extinct. My work focuses on the<br />
Australian landscape combined with Aboriginal<br />
art and my goal is to raise awareness so the next<br />
generation is educated about the need to protect<br />
the natural environment.<br />
As a mature person Lynda has discovered<br />
her true life’s journey as an artist after<br />
being confined to a wheelchair in 2007. As<br />
an indigenous person she finds the basis<br />
of her work comes from her heritage.<br />
Her love of this country is paramount<br />
to the genesis of her paintings and her<br />
development is fed by interaction with<br />
established artists. Images are distilled in<br />
her sketchbooks from pictures, memories<br />
and imagination and then translated into<br />
paintings.<br />
for we are young and free 21
michelle downing<br />
victoria<br />
Children do not belong<br />
behind bars and razor<br />
wire in detention<br />
camps. There are<br />
currently around 1000<br />
children in Australia<br />
living like this and studies have<br />
shown a correlation between<br />
extended periods in detention and<br />
serious mental health issues in the<br />
young children detained. The photos<br />
I have used are refugees in Australia<br />
in Australian detention facilities.<br />
The young girl in a posture similar<br />
to the statue of liberty and her<br />
message is to remember the words<br />
of our anthem and ensure freedom<br />
for these young children, many of<br />
whom have suffered great trauma in<br />
their journey to Australia.<br />
Kids Don’t Belong in Detention<br />
Mixed media on paper, 120 x 90cm, 2012<br />
$400<br />
Michelle is a resident of Williamstown who was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1966 and completed a BA at<br />
Adelaide University in 1986. She started painting as a child but began working seriously as an artist three<br />
years ago. Last year she gave up a career in IT management to become a full time artist. Her leap of<br />
faith was rewarded this year when she won the Amnesty International Freedom Art Prize. She has worked<br />
predominantly in oil paint but her latest body of work is a combination of charcoal and acrylic. She<br />
specialises in portraits, particularly of children and seeks to capture the carefree nature of childhood. Her<br />
naïve style emulates the drawings of children and uses a limited colour palette.<br />
22 for we are young and free
neville duncan<br />
represented by Carinya Society<br />
victoria<br />
Neville is an<br />
incredibly friendly<br />
and community<br />
minded person.<br />
He generally<br />
creates buoyant<br />
scenes with numerous<br />
characters that feel alive and<br />
connected. He is very aware of<br />
his environment and he takes<br />
initiative to assist others if<br />
help is required or if he senses<br />
they are struggling, or simply<br />
to share the load. Shared<br />
living provides a challenge for<br />
most but if we were all like<br />
Neville, joining together as a<br />
disabled person or not, our<br />
community would be strong;<br />
a quality required in a young<br />
community as multi-cultural<br />
as Melbourne. This drawing<br />
perhaps reflects the possible<br />
colourful existence that is a<br />
product of working together<br />
instead of in competition with<br />
each other.<br />
Text by Samantha Clarke<br />
World community<br />
Pen & pastel on paper, 62 x 41cm, 2012<br />
$175<br />
Neville is an optimistic individual with a passion for creating art. Due to living with Downs Syndrome, Neville<br />
has attended the Carinya Society day centre for over 15 years where he has learnt independent life skills<br />
and spent many hours in the art room. He has exhibited in numerous community exhibitions and the centre<br />
often receives phone calls with requests for his artwork.<br />
for we are young and free 23
mark farrelly<br />
victoria<br />
There is<br />
nothing<br />
more<br />
Australian<br />
than two<br />
young boys<br />
on summer holidays at<br />
the beach, gathering sea<br />
creatures at the local<br />
rock pools. I think this<br />
image typifies what it is<br />
to be young and free in<br />
Australia.<br />
At the rock pools<br />
C-type pigment print (Edition 1 of 10), 70 x 50cm, 2012, $600<br />
Since graduating with a BA in photography from RMIT in 1994, Mark has worked as a commercial<br />
photographer while continuing to develop his artwork. In 2009 and 2012 he was selected as a semi-finalist<br />
in the prestigious national Moran Photographic Prize and is also a past prizewinner in the Williamstown<br />
Festival Contemporary Art Prize. He exhibits regularly and he has been represented by Jackman Gallery<br />
since 2006.<br />
24 for we are young and free
sai-wai foo<br />
victoria<br />
Girt by sea<br />
Mixed Media, 42.5 x 20cm diam (base)<br />
2012, $580<br />
I’m from everywhere<br />
Mixed Media, 42.5 x 20cm diam (base)<br />
2012, $580<br />
Dreams of the Grey Nomad<br />
Mixed Media, 30 x 20cm diam (base)<br />
2012, $560<br />
Girt by sea<br />
explores<br />
Australia’s<br />
nautical past,<br />
whether it be<br />
from the Torres<br />
Straits, first fleet, post war<br />
European migrants or<br />
asylum seekers.<br />
I’m from<br />
everywhere<br />
plays on the<br />
lyrics of the<br />
1959 Geoff<br />
Mack song, which listed<br />
Australian country towns.<br />
Here our diverse cultural<br />
past is represented in<br />
the use of cartography &<br />
atlas papers; our diverse<br />
backgrounds are reminders<br />
of our rich heritage but the<br />
common thread that binds<br />
us is the Australian psyche.<br />
Dreams of the<br />
Grey Nomad –<br />
Part curiosity<br />
and part tourist<br />
kitsch,this<br />
piece embraces the idea<br />
of the freedom to travel<br />
and explore of the great<br />
Australian road trip and<br />
also themes of retirement,<br />
life goals & great journeys<br />
whether they are physical,<br />
emotional or psychological.<br />
Sai-Wai an emerging artist who has made the move from fashion design to establishing an art practice. She<br />
trained in fashion design disciplines and has worked as a commercial designer, stylist and illustrator over<br />
a number of years. Her fashion background influences and informs the finish, construction, materials and<br />
approach to her current practice.<br />
for we are young and free 25
jose consul gonsalves jr.<br />
victoria<br />
Freedom?<br />
Digital Photo (Second Edition: Free Sudan) 86 x 124cm, 2007<br />
$3000<br />
As a member of a<br />
cultural and linguistic<br />
community other<br />
than English, I am<br />
aware of the notion<br />
of linguistic capital in which<br />
language is seen as a form of<br />
capital that can be exchanged<br />
for other forms of capital –<br />
political, social, economic or<br />
cultural. Linguistic competence<br />
– or incompetence - reveals itself<br />
through daily interactions.<br />
Born in Mozambique in 1970, Jose is a documentary<br />
photographer and video artist currently studying his<br />
Masters of International Relations at the University<br />
of Melbourne and Masters of Community Cultural<br />
Development at VCA. He has a strong commitment to<br />
social justice and active citizenship. In a career spanning<br />
more than 10 years, he has produced a body of work that<br />
portrays Mozambique’s vibrant culture covering a wide<br />
range of social, economic and political themes. Currently<br />
he is the Creative Director of Grass Tree Productions in<br />
Melbourne, a non-profit production company specializing<br />
in multi-media projects for young people. He believes<br />
that Australian’s successful transition to a prosperous,<br />
tolerant, truly inclusive and mature democracy depends<br />
on the active participation of its young people.<br />
26 for we are young and free
debbi gray<br />
victoria<br />
Camping with Maternal Love<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 90cm, 2012, $250<br />
I was a very frustrated and dismayed unemployed person with a disability who<br />
returned to my country hometown to raise my daughter after working 20 years<br />
in Melbourne. I have travelled around and driven a rally car across Australia on<br />
two occasions and solo travelled through many other countries. As an admired<br />
high profile person in my hometown, I thought I would gain employment once<br />
my daughter started school. I was wrong! So after spending many years as a hobby artist with<br />
pencil, I was convinced by a professional artist friend to study art in order to gain further<br />
skills, in the hope that I might be able to work within the community when a community art<br />
project arose. It was not to be. Fighting depression over several years I have come out the<br />
other side and am now beginning to produce art again. With a new found confidence I want to<br />
now display one of my many skills, in the hope that society will not see me as just somebody to<br />
look after. Therefore, I have decided to display my artwork. I currently sit in a very supportive<br />
studio two days a week and look forward to producing a lot more works. I was inspired to<br />
create this work specifically for this exhibition because I am an Aussie gal with a great love for<br />
my daughter, and the Aussie bush due to the peaceful feeling and freedom it offers.<br />
Debbi was born in Lakes Entrance, Victoria in 1957 with no arms and malformed legs. In 2004 she<br />
completed a Diploma of Visual <strong>Arts</strong> at East Gippsland TAFE in Bairnsdale. In addition to pursing her art<br />
practice, Debbi is also a single mum to her 20 year-old daughter Emma.<br />
for we are young and free 27
peter gresham<br />
victoria<br />
Peter was born in Melbourne in<br />
1957. He works in a variety of<br />
mediums including painting in oils,<br />
watercolours and acrylics, both<br />
on canvas and paper. He is also<br />
busy working on different bodies<br />
of work in photography, printing<br />
on archival American cotton and<br />
archival canvas. He considers his<br />
work contemporary surrealism and<br />
abstraction. In recent years he has<br />
shown extensively in solo and group<br />
shows and his works are held in<br />
private and corporate collections.<br />
More of his work can be viewed at<br />
www.surrealistpop.com.<br />
Portrait of Professor Graeme Clarke<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 153 x 122cm, 2012<br />
$1750<br />
I do not generally identify as someone with disability, and although it was not<br />
a prerequisite, while considering a response to this exhibition I realized that<br />
with my 90% deafness, I was indeed disabled. Consequently I thought I should<br />
champion the cause for the man that is changing lives for ten’s of thousands<br />
of people across the world. Professor Graeme Clarke is the inventor of the<br />
cochlear implant and is the reason today that I don’t feel disabled. He is a great<br />
Australian innovator who has contributed enormously to society and who still today shows<br />
great Aussie creative invention in his new projects.<br />
28 for we are young and free
mary hackett<br />
victoria<br />
Birth<br />
Mild steel and scale (the residue from forging), approx. 90 x 130 x 130cm, 2012<br />
$5600<br />
Anything sitting in, on or around Australia is described as a ‘resource’ instead<br />
of being seen as unique topography and therefore something to treasure. This<br />
work questions our exploitation of Australia as a continent by suggesting both<br />
birth and death of an object/ creature. It does not declare that using what is<br />
available is wrong, but asks that it be regarded with reverence.<br />
Mary completed a Master of Fine Art with distinction at RMIT University in 2011, receiving a Graduate<br />
Award and a place on the Vice-Chancellor’s List for Academic Excellence. Her particular interest is in<br />
metalsmithing. She is a coordinator and a founding member of Blacksmith Doris (a women’s blacksmithing<br />
group), a partner in NMH Metalworks with her husband and also teaches silversmithing at TAFE level.<br />
Eleven years ago Mary was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and while she is generally able to manage<br />
her condition, she does have times of mild relapse resulting in limited lower limb movement and extreme<br />
fatigue. In 2011 she was selected for the international exhibition, Love Lace at the Powerhouse Museum,<br />
Sydney. Her works are in private collections in Australia, China, USA and Britain.<br />
for we are young and free 29
jodie harris<br />
new south wales<br />
Disposable Days # 2<br />
Photograph (Edition 2 of 2), 42 x 58.5cm unframed, $1200 unframed<br />
My work explores the relationship<br />
between our rate of consumption<br />
and imminent disposal of 98%<br />
of what we buy. Through this<br />
increasing disconnect, our humble<br />
trash has become an iconic<br />
representation of western society in the eastern<br />
world. The mood present in the work serves<br />
to capture the viewer and provoke thought<br />
surrounding the continuing advances of mass<br />
media and the role it is playing in justifying our<br />
“upgradeable” existence. A role that serves to<br />
perpetuate the resulting lack of accountability of<br />
our culture of trash.<br />
Jodie was born in 1982 and graduated<br />
with a BA in Photography from Queensland<br />
College of Art in 2011. Over the past four<br />
years she has exhibited widely in Australia<br />
and internationally. She specialises in<br />
the field of Social Documentary and<br />
describes her work as a mixture of political<br />
comment and personal interpretation of<br />
the world as presented to her. Her current<br />
series explores her Indigenous heritage.<br />
By placing herself and her work within<br />
the context of historical ethnographic<br />
imagery, Jodie redefines what being<br />
black means and how it is represented in<br />
western iconography.<br />
30 for we are young and free
marice henare<br />
victoria<br />
My mother was<br />
a painter and I<br />
always loved it.<br />
As a child I used<br />
to draw in the<br />
dirt with a stick<br />
and on concrete with charcoal<br />
remains of burnt firewood;<br />
it was what I excelled at. I<br />
found painting relaxing, it<br />
took my mind off my fear of<br />
being in public. This work<br />
was painted from a photo in<br />
the Herald Sun newspaper<br />
to mark a momentous day in<br />
the history of our country,<br />
when Prime Minister Kevin<br />
Rudd apologised to the stolen<br />
generations. This event<br />
had a very deep personal<br />
significance for my mother<br />
and family.<br />
Sorry<br />
Oil & oil pastel on paper<br />
60 x 51cm, 2008<br />
$300<br />
Marice was born 72 yeas ago in Chelsea, Victoria. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis ten years<br />
ago but has been mostly restricted to a wheel chair since 1989. Her mother is of Aboriginal descent<br />
from the Yorta Yorta tribe and her father a white Australian. As a child her mother always reinforced her<br />
Aboriginal heritage, even though speaking about it brought shame to her family and so was discouraged.<br />
Her serious pursuit of art began in her mid 40’s when she attended an art group for mature age Aboriginal<br />
students at Dandenong TAFE and graduated with a Certificate of Art and Design. Through this course she<br />
received a scholarship to travel to Europe to expand her knowledge of art by visiting galleries, museums<br />
and exhibitions. She was so inspired by the work of other indigenous people, that her interest in her own<br />
heritage was rekindled. Since then she has continued her education with courses in silk painting, pottery,<br />
lead lighting and many other artistic pursuits. Her works have been exhibited at the National Gallery of<br />
Victoria and are held in collections including State Trustees and The Brotherhood of St Laurence, where<br />
she has worked as a volunteer with homeless people and street kids for 20 years.<br />
for we are young and free 31
kandria hogan<br />
western australia<br />
Malu Weipu<br />
Sandalwood, 43 x 7 x 5cm, 2012, $240<br />
Punu Shape<br />
Desert oak, 57 x 14 x 8cm, 2012, $250<br />
I am a young Spinifex lady. I enjoy making<br />
punu because it is fun and I like carving<br />
shapes in the wood. I have also enjoyed<br />
making art and paintings. I like pattern<br />
making with the punu using the different<br />
colours and shapes in the wood and have<br />
watched the older people make punu in the bush since<br />
I was young. They would say to us ‘when you grow up<br />
you will be learn these things from old people’. I have<br />
also enjoyed learning new techniques with a sculptor.<br />
In my punu work I enjoy using old people’s way and<br />
my new way of punu. My artwork is about things I have<br />
seen in the land and they tell stories. The Malu Weipu<br />
is a kangaroo tail.<br />
Kandria was born in 1994 and<br />
lives in Tjuntjuntjara, a remote<br />
Aboriginal community in the<br />
Victoria Desert, WA. The nearest<br />
town is Kalgoorlie, 700kms<br />
away. She has learned traditional<br />
wood carving (punu) from her<br />
elders and combined this with<br />
new techniques learned from<br />
a Victorian sculptor who is<br />
conducting an ongoing residency<br />
in her community. This has led to<br />
Kandria’s first group exhibition,<br />
the 2012 Tjuntjuntjara Sculpture<br />
Exhibition at Kalgoorlie, WA.<br />
32 for we are young and free
charles house & shaun low<br />
supported by DHS<br />
victoria<br />
For this<br />
exhibition, we have<br />
experimented with<br />
Shaun painting the<br />
backgrounds and<br />
Charlie drawing<br />
on top of them,<br />
in order to create<br />
some collaborative<br />
works, to interesting<br />
effect. This work is a<br />
curious divergence<br />
for both men,<br />
in which Shaun<br />
rather unusually<br />
chose to create a<br />
dark background,<br />
that Charlie then<br />
populated with<br />
curious ghostly<br />
creatures, smiling<br />
faces and floating<br />
bodies. Inexplicably<br />
he then filled it with<br />
hundreds of dots.<br />
The end result is<br />
somewhat similar to<br />
the ‘dot’ paintings<br />
of Indigenous<br />
Australians, though<br />
neither Charlie<br />
nor Shaun come<br />
from Indigenous<br />
Australian<br />
backgrounds.<br />
Text by Simon Bragg<br />
Ghosts of the Free<br />
Acrylic & paint pens on canvas, 45.5 x 60.5cm, 2012<br />
$250<br />
Shaun has Autism and does not speak. He paints every week from his home.<br />
He chooses the colours he wants to work with each session, usually bright<br />
orange, pink and red shades. He works quickly, yet with diligent focus, mixing<br />
his colours and working until the entire canvas has been sufficiently covered.<br />
When he is satisfied, he usually hands the piece back to his support worker<br />
and doesn’t want to see it again. Painting is an activity that Shaun has enjoyed<br />
for many years. It seems to keep him calm and happy and provide him with a<br />
means of expressing himself that he can’t do vocally.<br />
Charlie has an Acquired Brain Injury. He spends much of his evenings working<br />
on his drawings and in the warmer months sits in his back yard drawing until<br />
the sun goes down. He draws with thick permanent markers or paint pens,<br />
creating fantastical creatures of his own imagination such as ghosts, vampire<br />
birds or mummy-creatures. The people in his drawings are always happy and<br />
smiling and bright, often surrounded by love-hearts or smiling suns. He has<br />
recently displayed and sold his artworks at local galleries, cafes and school<br />
art shows. He loves to talk at length to people about his creations whenever<br />
he has the chance.<br />
for we are young and free 33
ying huang<br />
victoria<br />
Ying left China in her early twenties<br />
and spent several years travelling<br />
through Asia before settling in Thailand.<br />
She immigrated to Australia in 2001.<br />
She has worked as a scuba diving<br />
instructor in Queensland, Thailand and<br />
Egypt, but is currently completing a<br />
Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT majoring<br />
in Printmaking. In 2011 she was the<br />
winner of the Flanagan Art Prize and<br />
this year has been selected as a finalist<br />
for the Rick Amor Drawing Prize at<br />
Ballarat Art Gallery.<br />
Kelly<br />
Charcoal & pastel on paper<br />
91 x 72cm, 2012<br />
$1800<br />
My current art practice explores themes of identity, loss and justice. I am<br />
influenced by my experience of growing up in Communist China and the<br />
impact of this on my immediate family for the last three generations. This<br />
portrait is based on the death mask of Ned Kelly, an Australian icon who was<br />
executed at the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1880. Although the death penalty has<br />
now been abolished, my work reminds us that this was a relatively recent period<br />
in the history of our justice system. It serves as an example of the powerful relationship<br />
between the arbitrary nature of conventional morality and the law. It invites the viewer<br />
to be vigilant and to constantly question that morality; particularly when it is reflected in<br />
legislation that facilitates the State’s power to destroy a life.<br />
34 for we are young and free
Initially NO<br />
represented by The Stables Studio<br />
victoria<br />
Initially NO was<br />
born in 1972. Over<br />
the past 10 years<br />
her art practice<br />
has been intensive<br />
producing 10 solo<br />
exhibitions, which<br />
she credits to<br />
having access<br />
to studio space<br />
at The Stables.<br />
Her work takes a<br />
variety of forms,<br />
from found<br />
objects, through<br />
abstraction, to<br />
more recently<br />
painting<br />
landscapes from<br />
life. She was<br />
diagnosed with<br />
schizophrenia 13<br />
years ago and has<br />
had a number of<br />
psychotic episodes<br />
triggered by<br />
trauma, like the<br />
death of someone<br />
close to her. Her<br />
last episode was<br />
a year and a half<br />
ago. She is hoping<br />
psychosis does not<br />
happen again.<br />
Mountain Ash<br />
Oil on canvas, 51 x 61cm, 2012<br />
$200<br />
In the past I spent years continuously sketching without<br />
knowing what would appear on the page. I called this,<br />
The automatic hand. After large doses of neuroleptics in<br />
hospitalizations, this amazing skill I had disappeared. I<br />
have, however, since my last episode been able to write<br />
a children’s story and illustrate it. I have to think about<br />
what I’m going to paint or draw though. I didn’t used to do that, I’d<br />
trust myself and something amazing from my dreams would appear.<br />
In 2004 I created a series of abstracts about the culmination of my<br />
travels around Australia. Something new was developing in my mind,<br />
about the individual that is Australia. I travelled far west and up<br />
north, but even though there were differences it somehow was still<br />
Australia. Recently I have been seeking to capture the look and feel<br />
of our landscape in oil paints. This one is near Cambarville where<br />
a beautiful tall mountain ash was lucky enough to escape the black<br />
Saturday fires.<br />
for we are young and free 35
sue jarvis<br />
victoria<br />
Ode to Youth, Oil on canvas, 78 x 93cm, 2008, $1700<br />
Australian youth<br />
are not constrained<br />
by pressures to<br />
conform. They do<br />
not succumb to<br />
pressures of time or<br />
of place. They interact in their<br />
own way. Their common bond<br />
is the use of social media and<br />
mobile phones.<br />
Sue was born and raised in the industrial and now multicultural<br />
city of Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast. She was a major<br />
prizewinner at the Dandenong Festival of Music and Art for<br />
Youth, and went on to become an art teacher and artist. Her<br />
practice also includes photography and much of her current<br />
work expresses an interest in the everyday, the changing nature<br />
of the city and socio-political issues of contemporary life. Sue<br />
has been a finalist of the ANL Maritime Art Award many times<br />
and was a finalist in the Blake Prize in Sydney, 2006. Her works<br />
are in collections throughout Australia and overseas, including<br />
the State Library of Victoria. More of her works can be viewed<br />
at www.suejarvisartist.com.au<br />
36 for we are young and free
liz johnson<br />
victoria<br />
Gene Pool<br />
Watercolour, pen & ink<br />
87 x 110cm, 2012<br />
$450<br />
Bathers are not only an acceptable<br />
form of casual summer clothing in<br />
Australia, they are almost a right<br />
of passage; symbolizing freedom<br />
of movement and self - expression.<br />
The individual bathers represent<br />
all the different shapes and sizes of people that<br />
make up contemporary urban Australia.<br />
Liz is a visual artist who works in the genres<br />
of landscapes and still life, using a range of<br />
media including pastels, watercolour, pen<br />
and ink. She has been exhibiting her work<br />
in solo and group exhibitions since 2006.<br />
for we are young and free 37
larissa macfarlane<br />
victoria<br />
An Urban Industrial Playground III, Collagraph & stencil monoprint, 55 x 68cm, 2012, $450<br />
My work investigates what it means to live at the intersection of the industrial,<br />
suburban and natural worlds, exploring ways we coexist with technologies<br />
and structures that at the same time we can be so disconnected from. The ever<br />
increasing consumer lifestyle that dominates contemporary Australian life<br />
has seen an explosion in car and truck traffic as we transport ourselves and<br />
the containers of consumer goods around the country. These art works explore how we<br />
negotiate,interpret, mark and change these places to make them our own or find a place<br />
to play. I hope to find ways to look anew at our contemporary urban landscapes, and thus<br />
possibly (re)examine how our current choices define contemporary Australian life.<br />
Larissa was born in London, England in 1969. She began her studies in the visual arts after a brain<br />
injury and car accident redirected her life in her late 20’s. She completed a Diploma in Visual <strong>Arts</strong> (CAE)<br />
in 2010 and is currently undertaking undergraduate studies in printmaking at RMIT. She is inspired by<br />
the landscapes of Melbourne’s West where she has lived and ridden her bicycle for the past 10 years.<br />
She also draws inspiration from her experience of illness and disability to investigate ideas of belonging<br />
and place, healing and change, and ways that we can celebrate what we have here and now. Her many<br />
exhibitions include 5 solo shows and she has a strong interest in community art, leading many projects that<br />
use principles of peer support and self-advocacy to be inclusive of people of all abilities. Awards include<br />
Mini Print International Asia Pacific, 2012, <strong>Arts</strong> Access Australia 2011 and Finalist 2012 Silk Cut Awards.<br />
Collections include Maribyrnong City Council, MIND, TAC and the Mental Health Foundation.<br />
38 for we are young and free
steven makse<br />
western australia<br />
Australia Day<br />
Oil on board, 65 x 80cm, 2012<br />
$1200<br />
Part proceeds of sale go directly to Layla and her sister (pictured in the portrait)<br />
The meaning of Australia as a nation<br />
is both contentious and subjective.<br />
Like those of any country, accounts of<br />
our history have been written to suit<br />
particular points of view. So is January<br />
26 ‘Australia Day’ or ‘Invasion Day’?<br />
Depending on who you ask, it could go either way.<br />
To these particular refugees, two Batwa sisters<br />
from the Republic of Burundi – Australia is place<br />
of relative freedom – a safe haven from the troubles<br />
and persecution in their homeland.<br />
Steven was born in 1973 and has a<br />
Masters of Visual Art from Edith Cowan<br />
University in Perth. He works mainly<br />
in paint and some digital media,<br />
often with a subtle tension between<br />
the absurd, the optimistic and the<br />
apocalyptic. He was the recipient of<br />
the Kondinin Centenary Art Prize in<br />
2010 and more of his works can be<br />
viewed at www.stevenmakse.com<br />
for we are young and free 39
leah mariani<br />
victoria<br />
I have<br />
recently been<br />
exploring<br />
the theme<br />
of childhood<br />
and<br />
innocence. The subject<br />
here is a young girl with<br />
her arms outstretched<br />
to the sky, her dress and<br />
hair flowing in the wind.<br />
She is shown to be young,<br />
happy and carefree<br />
and one imagines that<br />
she wants to fly high in<br />
the sky. The image is<br />
symbolic, representing<br />
her future hopes and<br />
dreams and her potential<br />
to take on the world.<br />
I can fly<br />
Dry point print on paper (A/P), 32 x 23cm, 2012<br />
$150<br />
Leah is an emerging artist, currently completing a Diploma of Visual <strong>Arts</strong> at the Centre for Adult Education<br />
in Melbourne. She works in painting, collage and printing making. Her work is held privately and has<br />
been exhibited in cafes and group exhibitions. Recently she has been selected as a finalist for the 2012<br />
Lethbridge Small-Scale Art Award, 2011 Metro Art Award, 2011 Agendo Award and the Box Hill Community<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> Centre Biennial Art Competition 2011.<br />
40 for we are young and free
christina markin<br />
victoria<br />
Undefined Boundries<br />
Acrylic on marine treated board<br />
60 x 60cm, 2012<br />
$1500<br />
I do not aim to reproduce what I’ve seen,<br />
but rather to relive the experience of a<br />
space. Through my work I aim to question<br />
the relationship between memory and<br />
the present; and how our perceptions of<br />
our environment impacts our collective<br />
history. I feel compelled by the sense of emptiness,<br />
history and desolation that is evoked from industrial<br />
and some urban spaces. I seek to capture what is as well<br />
as what isn’t, and in doing so, allow for the possibilities<br />
that arise from uncertainty. My experience not only as<br />
a Canadian Indigenous person, but also an immigrant<br />
allows for a unique emotional landscape, as I find<br />
myself integrating into Australian culture.<br />
Christina was born in 1975 and<br />
lives at Whittlesea. Her heritage is<br />
half Cree Indian of the First Nations<br />
people of Canada. She completed<br />
an honours degree in visual arts in<br />
Canada over a decade ago before<br />
spending several years travelling<br />
through Europe and completing<br />
additional study at university,<br />
most recently a Post-Grad Diploma<br />
in Fine <strong>Arts</strong> at VCA. In 2011 she<br />
commenced an Artist in Residence<br />
Program at New Delhi, India and<br />
was a Finalist in the Sunshine<br />
Coast Art Prize, Queensland.<br />
for we are young and free 41
elinda mason<br />
new south wales<br />
Aurukun Rugby Boys, Digital capture & print (Edition 7 of 10) 75 x 120cm, 2011, $795<br />
This image of Aboriginal people from<br />
the remote community of Aurukun, a<br />
small indigenous community on the<br />
North West tip of Cape York Peninsula,<br />
is inspired by the spirit of reconciliation<br />
between the oldest living culture in the world and<br />
the youngest living culture in the world. Together<br />
we forge a new future together, remembering and<br />
learning from the past, so that all our children will<br />
always remain, young and free. I took these images<br />
whilst working on a project with the community to<br />
visual record their stories for a project that is yet to<br />
be finished due to lack of funding. The exhibition<br />
will been shown at The State Library of NSW in<br />
conjunction with NADOC week and the World Press<br />
Awards www.yolnguonbalanda.com.<br />
Belinda is a Sydney-based freelance<br />
photographer who previously worked as<br />
a News Ltd Press photographer. Since<br />
1998 her work has focused on taboo<br />
social issues that explore the very personal<br />
and sometimes difficult subjects of grief,<br />
body image, identity and family. With the<br />
assistance of Accessible <strong>Arts</strong> and Visions<br />
of Australia, her work about sexuality and<br />
disability, Intimate Encounters, toured<br />
Australia extensively for seven years. This<br />
exhibition continues to tour internationally<br />
and has been shown in London, Barcelona,<br />
Seville, New York, Toronto and Auckland.<br />
In 2008 Belinda was the recipient of The<br />
Moran Prize for photography and also the<br />
Human Rights Award for Photography.<br />
42 for we are young and free
aaron james mcgarry<br />
victoria<br />
Calyptorhynchus banksii<br />
(the Red Tailed Black<br />
Cockatoo) is a native<br />
Australian bird and<br />
one of our larger bird<br />
fauna. It is no surprise<br />
it is currently under threat due to<br />
de-forestation of its natural habitat.<br />
The aim of this work is to show<br />
the indisputable beauty of a single<br />
feather, one of many making up<br />
this creature. Every creature that<br />
makes our country so great and<br />
diverse deserves to be preserved<br />
and recognised for the striking and<br />
stunning creation it is; for what are<br />
we without what makes our country<br />
so unique and special?<br />
Aaron is a 28 year-old artist from Melbourne who lives<br />
with Bi-Polar disorder. He attended the National Art<br />
School in Sydney and has since exhibited widely and<br />
received multiple awards. In 2011 he was selected<br />
for the Australian Stencil Art Prize and this year was a<br />
semifinalist in the coveted Moran Prize for Photography.<br />
Aaron works in a wide range of mediums, reflecting the<br />
world around him and sees all things (whether ugly,<br />
powerful or pretty) as inspirational; the sights, sounds<br />
and emotions he experiences precipitate works that<br />
range from the beautiful to the macabre.<br />
Calyptorhynchus banksii<br />
Stencil/print (Edition 1 of 1)<br />
130 x 49cm, 2012<br />
$600<br />
for we are young and free 43
anna mcgrath<br />
victoria<br />
© Photograph Stefan Duscio<br />
Mandarin Peel, Capture Format – Super 16 mm film & Red. Exhibition Format – DVD, 5 minute duration, 2009, NFS<br />
Mandarin Peel looks at childhood, a time of being “young and free”, through the lens<br />
of memory and dreams. The film does not follow a traditional narrative structure<br />
but through an evocative montage it turns a surrealist eye upon the experiences of<br />
two girls in the dry environment of a Melbourne summer. The film evokes tactile<br />
experiences and revels in the visceral. The girls silently interact with each other and the<br />
landscape, making their mark, they hoard objects, sharing, bonding and touching the natural<br />
and unnatural in their midst. The film explores the innocence of childhood, kinship of the young,<br />
instinctual reactions, sensations, shifting boundaries, violence and forgiveness. The girls are part of<br />
the landscape, they are not just placed “in” it, and indeed l feel the landscape is the third character<br />
in the film. The strong tradition of “women in the landscape” constantly referenced in Australian<br />
art speaks much of our cultural preoccupation with themes of isolation and the imagined horror of<br />
the wide-open spaces of our country. Finally, the children of Mandarin Peel serve as metaphors for<br />
Australia itself, its exploration of identity, forging relationships, inventing history and future.<br />
Anna is a Melbourne based film writer and director with a passion for telling Australian stories. She has a<br />
Masters of Film and Television from VCA and her films have screened in over 60 film festivals around the<br />
world.<br />
44 for we are young and free
alexander mcgregor<br />
new south wales<br />
Easter Party<br />
Drawing, 35x 45cm, 2010, $660<br />
I like to draw because it is fun for me, also I spent<br />
a long time to do them from the time when I was a<br />
baby. I like to draw people I know, buildings and<br />
transport from my own way, as I enjoy them. I<br />
draw them with the different stories that I write.<br />
Alexander is an 18 year-old artist from Bondi Beach in Sydney who lives<br />
with Autism. His joyous pictures are reminiscent of Egyptian hieroglyphs<br />
that reflect an immediately infectious zest for life. His works have been<br />
exhibited this year at Sydney College Art Exhibition, the Botany Bay Art<br />
Prize and he was Highly Commended at the Waverley Youth Art Award.<br />
for we are young and free 45
jinari mountain<br />
victoria<br />
Enter the Wallaby<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 91cm, 2012<br />
$2000<br />
Jinari was born in Australia in 1975; a time of local political upheaval,<br />
rock music, post-war bitterness, hippy-love, the dawn of the<br />
technological revolution and the globalisation of market economies<br />
and culture. This milieu left an indelible imprint that continues to<br />
influence her. Jinari follows a strong line of self-taught women artists in<br />
her family. While she has no formal tertiary training in art, she studied<br />
photography in Secondary College and won several state prizes. She<br />
then attained a BA, and a BSc at Monash University, and a Diploma in<br />
Holistic Counselling at Phoenix Institute. Jinari has sold and exhibited<br />
her works internationally and has worked with public and private clients<br />
in art therapy and community arts. Her symbolic and figurative works<br />
explore how myth, story and cultural practice influences how human<br />
beings relate to each other and the surrounding environment.<br />
I am aware<br />
of the<br />
importance<br />
of modern<br />
Australians<br />
coming to terms with the<br />
ancient Aboriginal cultural<br />
heritage and stories of this<br />
country. This is not to say<br />
we take these stories as<br />
our own, but rather that<br />
they may help us better<br />
understand our landscape;<br />
and through this we may<br />
begin to birth a substantial<br />
reconciliation between<br />
multiple cultures and the<br />
landscape. Reconciliation<br />
is a relatively young<br />
concept; perhaps as a<br />
theory and a practice it is<br />
even still in uetero, with<br />
many of its’ characteristics<br />
yet unknown. In our<br />
favour is our freedom as<br />
a young, multicultural,<br />
and democratic country,<br />
able to draw upon a great<br />
variety of knowledge and<br />
resources in order to<br />
create the path together.<br />
We are freer than the<br />
countries many of us have<br />
come from, whom are<br />
more constrained by old<br />
traditions and hierarchies.<br />
This raises the possibility<br />
of us being able to bear<br />
responsibilities to the<br />
environment and each<br />
other in a way that could<br />
be an example to the<br />
world.<br />
46 for we are young and free
greg muir<br />
victoria<br />
I first became<br />
interested in art<br />
while I was living<br />
at Mary Macauley<br />
House, a Scope<br />
(formerly Spastic Society) house<br />
in Hampton. I went to a place<br />
in Ferntree Gully run by Leisure<br />
Action Scope and they said they<br />
would look into having an art<br />
tutor and would call when they<br />
found someone willing to teach<br />
me how to paint. So they rang<br />
around and found someone who<br />
lived just around the corner. So<br />
Noel came around and said to<br />
the staff ‘is Greg here?’ and I said<br />
‘here I am’, so he said ‘I believe<br />
you want to learn how to paint!’<br />
So every Monday night I would<br />
go around to his place in my<br />
wheelchair, get out of my chair<br />
with a bit of help (that was when<br />
I was walking), and we set up in<br />
his kitchen and began to paint.<br />
I remember my first painting,<br />
it was of Mary Macauley House<br />
and it is still there hanging on<br />
the wall, and ever since I am still<br />
painting after 30 years or more (I<br />
can’t remember but I think Noel<br />
would know because he was my<br />
first tutor and he taught me well;<br />
thanks to him!). Since then my<br />
passion for painting has grown<br />
and my skills have developed.<br />
I’ve been lucky enough to have<br />
private tutorials and quite a few<br />
art courses. I currently attend<br />
art classes twice a week. I can’t<br />
imagine my life without painting<br />
because when I paint I feel free<br />
like a bird.<br />
Friendship<br />
Mixed media, 30 x 24cm, 2012<br />
$50<br />
Greg was born in 1953 and is a Melbourne based artist of<br />
Koorie heritage living with cerebral palsy. He has studied<br />
art at Moorabin TAFE, Huntingdale Tech and the College<br />
of Adult Education and sold works through group shows<br />
and commissions and the Koorie Night Market. His work is<br />
currently featured in a traveling exhibition around Regional<br />
Victoria.<br />
for we are young and free 47
yan mullavey<br />
represented by Kew Neighbourhood Learning Centre<br />
victoria<br />
Football the Australian Way<br />
Acrylic on canvas board, 30.5 x 40.6cm, 2012<br />
$150<br />
I chose the theme of football<br />
because I like to follow the<br />
football season. I recognise<br />
football as being part of<br />
Australian culture and<br />
contemporary Australian life.<br />
Ryan has been painting for around 5<br />
years and during that time has been a<br />
student in two different art classes. He<br />
currently attends weekly classes at Kew<br />
Neighbourhood Learning Centre. His works<br />
have been featured in the MHW Annual<br />
Exhibition 2007-2011.<br />
48 for we are young and free
kathie najar<br />
new south wales<br />
Kathie completed a degree of Fine<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> in Sydney in the early1980’s<br />
and since then has worked as a<br />
commissioned artist painting tiles,<br />
murals, glass and fabrics. She has<br />
won awards and commissions<br />
nationally for her collage and hand<br />
painted tile works and recently<br />
completed a Master’s Degree at<br />
College of Fine <strong>Arts</strong>, UNSW.<br />
Teenage games 2011 (detail shown)<br />
15 Blues Point Road (suicide)<br />
17 Fighting Gully Road (aggression)<br />
19 High Street (drug abuse)<br />
Hand painted ceramic tiles, marine ply,<br />
silicon, metal post, astro turf<br />
Total area 120 x 220 x 70cm<br />
each letterbox 22 x 22 x 15cm<br />
Set of 3 with posts, bases and astro turf<br />
$3800<br />
Individual letter box $1200<br />
10% of sale will be donated to Beyond<br />
Blue – the national depression initiative<br />
This body of work is an exploration of contemporary Australian life from my<br />
own particular perspective. It is informed by the tradition of 18th century hand<br />
painted Dutch delft tile series of ‘children’s games’. The endearing memory of<br />
the original miniature hand painted images of old fashioned children’s games<br />
is a vehicle of attraction, which here on closer inspection has been transformed<br />
to aversion with images of teenage misbehavior, as children walk the razor’s<br />
edge to adulthood. These bitter images in the sweet format of what may appear to be the<br />
happy home, repeat, generation after generation. For growth of a healthier humanity, there<br />
is a need for a more open dialogue around the human insecurity and mental disorders that<br />
are reflected in our harmful behaviors. The letterbox is an entry point to the expectation<br />
of a happy home and family, and also a vehicle for communication; where messages are<br />
received, or not. The work poses the question, is anyone home to tend to and care for our<br />
young adults?<br />
for we are young and free 49
clare o’shannessy<br />
represented by Artful Dodgers<br />
victoria<br />
Clare has been a member of<br />
Artful Dodgers Studios for over<br />
4 years. She has learnt many<br />
skills but her current focus is<br />
sculpture, exhibiting with Artful<br />
Dodgers and in independent<br />
competitions. In 2011 her<br />
work was shown at the Yarra<br />
Sculpture Gallery as part of the<br />
Cahoots exhibition. This was<br />
one of the outcomes of the<br />
Rudder Mentoring Program,<br />
for which she had a 9 month<br />
mentorship with professional<br />
sculptor Annee Miron.<br />
Rose Coloured Glasses<br />
Mixed media, 15 x 27 x 33cm, 2012<br />
$580<br />
On the surface, the expression on her face is one of sheer contentment.<br />
However her eyes see through rose coloured glasses - which is the first<br />
indicator that all is not as it seems. When you look inside her head there a<br />
scene that does not reflect the exterior; it depicts inner turmoil. The rough<br />
unfinished look signifies that she is unfinished: she needs more work and the<br />
opportunity to grow; she is still young but can only try to be free. This concept<br />
as a whole is my insight into how one can seem optimistic and comfortable on the outside<br />
because that is what is expected. If one does not appear to be managing well mentally they<br />
are rejected - there is still stigma attached to mental health, in Australia and all around the<br />
world. This piece is all about battling to feel free and included, something that often only<br />
feels possible by putting up a front to appear young and free.<br />
50 for we are young and free
norian paicu<br />
victoria<br />
Since arriving in<br />
Melbourne in 1999,<br />
what impressed me the<br />
most is the potential<br />
of regeneration,<br />
rebirth, reinvention,<br />
which has unique and powerful<br />
dimensions in Australia. The work<br />
symbolises this Australian specific<br />
characteristic, which is ubiquitous:<br />
the new beginning of the migrants<br />
arriving to Australia, the capacity<br />
of the Australian people to absorb<br />
the specifics of the different nations<br />
and combine them so positively<br />
into the original Australian culture.<br />
The Australian way of life appears<br />
to be a natural projection of the<br />
resilient Australian nature, which<br />
regenerates after every natural<br />
disaster.<br />
Hope<br />
Bronze, 40 x 33 x 25cm, 2012<br />
$6000<br />
Norian was born in 1969 in Craiova, Communist<br />
Romania. He studied at the National Art Academy<br />
Bucharest specializing in ceramics, glass and metal. He<br />
has participated in solo and group exhibitions nationally<br />
and internationally, receiving numerous awards. He<br />
immigrated to Australia and in 2010 completed a Master<br />
of Fine <strong>Arts</strong> in Sculpture at Monash University. He works<br />
in installation, sculpture and graphics from his studio in<br />
Mount Waverley and was a Finalist 2011 Woollahra Small<br />
Sculpture Prize.<br />
for we are young and free 51
priscilla pike<br />
represented by Colour Gang<br />
victoria<br />
Saints and Pies<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60cm, 2010<br />
$88<br />
Priscilla was born in 1982 and lives in Bairnsdale<br />
in regional Victoria. This work celebrates her love of<br />
Aussie Rules Football and the cultural connections<br />
and confrontations it incorporates, and also offers<br />
an insight into her wry sense of humour.<br />
52 for we are young and free
fraser pollock<br />
new south wales<br />
Uluru in the City<br />
Ink on paper, 29 x 42cm, 2012, $275<br />
Fraser is a 16 year-old school student who<br />
attends Cranbrook school in Bellevue Hill,<br />
Sydney. He spends every spare moment with a<br />
pen in hand and likes to draw using a range of<br />
mediums, including ink and pen on paper. He has<br />
been exhibiting for some time and over the years<br />
his work has moved through different phases, from shapes<br />
and tribal figures, to patterns that have most recently begun<br />
to incorporate the use of colour. In 2009 he was the inaugural<br />
recipient of the Matthew Jones Art Award and was a finalist in<br />
the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing in 2012 and 2010. Earlier<br />
this year he was selected for the exhibition Drawn to the Line, at<br />
the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales.<br />
for we are young and free 53
frank powell<br />
represented by Colour Gang<br />
victoria<br />
The Man’s Gone Fishing<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100cm, 2011<br />
$330<br />
Frank is a 57 year-old artist whose works in acrylic<br />
on canvas explore aspects of his everyday life<br />
and contemporary customs and culture. His well<br />
developed tonal acuity is revealed in this work<br />
that explores the great Australian tradition of<br />
taking a day off.<br />
54 for we are young and free
donna richards<br />
represented by Amaroo <strong>Arts</strong> - Mind Australlia<br />
victoria<br />
Donna was born in<br />
1967 but prior to<br />
2009 had never picked<br />
up a paintbrush or<br />
taken an art class.<br />
At that time she was<br />
experiencing chronic<br />
physical illness and<br />
mental instability having<br />
been institutionalized<br />
as a child and made a<br />
ward of the state and<br />
was part of the now<br />
recognised, Forgotten<br />
Generation. She was<br />
desperate to achieve<br />
something, anything<br />
that would provide her<br />
with a sense of life again<br />
and prove to herself and<br />
her loved ones that she<br />
had not given up (like<br />
before). She was willing<br />
to try anything. On an<br />
impulse she bought<br />
some art supplies, put<br />
on a feel good movie<br />
and without focus, an<br />
image or direction,<br />
picked up a paintbrush<br />
and began to paint her<br />
feelings. With each<br />
stroke of the brush, she<br />
had an overwhelming<br />
feeling of freedom from<br />
oppression, judgement,<br />
illness, and all that had<br />
worked to tear her down.<br />
She began exhibiting<br />
her work last year and<br />
is currently attending<br />
her first painting class<br />
at a Williamstown<br />
Community and<br />
Education Centre.<br />
The Root of Life<br />
Tree root & wire, 23 x 47 x 41cm, 2012<br />
$200<br />
For me, my art creations are not about the outcome,<br />
but intrinsically and passionately about the process<br />
and all that I am fortunate to gain from the experience.<br />
When I create I am free to be me. Through art I have<br />
developed a new found passion for nature and am<br />
happiest knee deep in mud, digging and planting, growing, saving<br />
and regenerating the natural beauty that is beneath my feet and<br />
all around me. I feel privileged to be surrounded by our Australian<br />
natural resources and see and feel the art in a tree root, the delicate<br />
shape of a leaf, or the way a singular flower artistically poses. If<br />
you are stuck in a self-destructive, baron existence, I say, be bold,<br />
be brave, and take a chance. Reinvent your way of thinking. Be<br />
adventurous and imaginative like small children playing and<br />
laughing; for art, like life, really does surround you.<br />
for we are young and free 55
ignacio rojas<br />
victoria<br />
Strength in the Heart<br />
or Con fuerza en el<br />
corazon began as a<br />
reflection on how I<br />
see myself as migrant<br />
and it portrays part of my story of<br />
becoming and being Australian. It<br />
is an autobiographical and personal<br />
painting that acknowledges and<br />
celebrates my story and perhaps the<br />
shared memories of those migrants<br />
that find themselves invisible,<br />
misinterpreted and politically used<br />
in Australia. Strength in the Heart<br />
is about the silent glory behind those<br />
that have faced and fought adversity<br />
in Australia; it celebrates the rise<br />
from poverty and adversity and the<br />
will to fight that migrants carry … I’m<br />
not a hero and I’m not pretending to<br />
paint heroic stories of migration nor<br />
portraying my alter ego for everyone<br />
to see and admire… I take this painting<br />
as the beginning of my academic and<br />
artistic journey of pushing forward<br />
the only concept I care enough about<br />
to develop as a PhD. The concept of<br />
Australia as a true migrant nation<br />
which unifies the ancestral, colonial<br />
and multicultural Australians in<br />
today’s young and free nation.<br />
Con fuerza en el Corazon (Strength in the heart)<br />
Oil on canvas, 122 x 71cm, 2012<br />
$2500<br />
Ignacio was born in Chile in 1978 and moved to Australia in 2001. He has a double background in fine<br />
arts and sociology and is currently undertaking a multidisciplinary PhD in Australian studies (history and<br />
painting) at The University of Melbourne. He has exhibited in numerous exhibitions and has been finalist in<br />
several art competitions. He has worked as an art teacher and is currently working as research assistant<br />
for a group of academics at Victoria University that use art as a tool for social change.<br />
56 for we are young and free
daniel savage<br />
australian capital territory<br />
Home, sweet home<br />
Mixed media, 185 x 4.5 x 3.5cm, 2012, NFS<br />
I grew up with my two brothers<br />
in the classic suburban Australian<br />
house and it was the marks, holes<br />
and dents left on the walls over time<br />
that reinforced that connection to<br />
home. In 2009 at age 21, I suffered<br />
a severe spinal injury and we had to sell the<br />
house, as it wasn’t suitable for a wheelchair.<br />
It was bought by a developer who intendeds<br />
to knock it down and put up townhouses. This<br />
work is a comment on the trend to knock down<br />
and rebuild that seems simultaneously to be<br />
the creation and destruction of the ‘Australian<br />
Dream’. It is also a comment on how something<br />
as simple as a mark on a wall can carry so much<br />
weight and significance.<br />
Daniel is an emerging artist, working across<br />
numerous mediums with a passion for<br />
photography, installation and performance<br />
art who believes that form should always<br />
follow concept. His art centers around his<br />
own engagement with the world and he uses<br />
his own experience, notably his disability, as<br />
a point of difference to engage the viewer<br />
in the work. He was born in Arizona in the<br />
United States in 1988, but moved to Australia<br />
at a young age and is currently studying at<br />
the Australian National University School of<br />
Art, Canberra. He has contributed to group<br />
shows both in Australia and overseas,<br />
most notably in the Czech Republic, and is<br />
working on a two major series dealing with<br />
the image in a contemporary digital age and<br />
society’s relationship with technology.<br />
for we are young and free 57
libby schreiber<br />
victoria<br />
Something to crow about (Suburban Cock)<br />
Black & white linocut (Edition of 20) 82 x 65cm, 2012<br />
$525<br />
Libby completed a Degree In Fine <strong>Arts</strong> in 1989. In 2003<br />
she became interested in working with linocut prints. Since<br />
then it has become an obsession that has re-invigorated her<br />
practice. She has exhibited widely in recent years at exhibitions<br />
including The Nillumbik Prize and the Rick Amor Print Prize.<br />
Our family moved<br />
to Templestowe,<br />
a new suburb, full<br />
of orchards and<br />
rolling green hills,<br />
when I was just a toddler. We<br />
quickly made friends with our<br />
neighbours, a migrant Italian<br />
family. The Marchi’s seemed<br />
somewhat exotic as new aromas<br />
and sounds drifted across our<br />
fence including freshly ground<br />
coffee, garlic, over ripened fruit<br />
trees and the melodic sound<br />
of their native tongue. Most<br />
fascinating to me though was<br />
the menagerie of creatures<br />
in their backyard including a<br />
talking cocky and the proud but<br />
somewhat infuriating wakeup<br />
call of their prized Rooster.<br />
Whilst this particular work is<br />
specifically about that early<br />
morning call and the anxiety<br />
it caused, the larger than life<br />
image of the strutting rooster<br />
symbolises a great deal more.<br />
Proud, confident and visually<br />
dazzling this magnificent bird<br />
has been used throughout<br />
Australia’s history as a symbol<br />
of strength, pride, confidence<br />
and humour on everything from<br />
cereal packets to football teams,<br />
beer logos, farming machinery<br />
and newspapers (the Herald<br />
Sun). As the old saying goes;<br />
“Wake up Australia…the world<br />
needs you!”<br />
58 for we are young and free
pamela see<br />
represented by Andrew Baker Art Dealer<br />
queensland<br />
This work is part of a<br />
series inspired by the<br />
testimonies of friends<br />
and family who have, or<br />
have expressed interest in,<br />
migrating here from Asian countries.<br />
The non-figurative ‘splotches’ from<br />
which the tableau is emerging were<br />
created from drops of black oil mixed<br />
with water. These are, on one level,<br />
intended to symbolise incongruity.<br />
On another level, they reflect how our<br />
contemporary lifestyles are completely<br />
dependent upon the consumption of<br />
oil. At the same time, oil threatens it by<br />
way of risk of contamination (oil spill).<br />
As a Buddhist, I am interested in the<br />
suffering which may have been incurred<br />
through the acquisition of the oil. I have<br />
often heard comments questioning<br />
why people from the Middle East try to<br />
come to Australia. It is no coincidence<br />
that the countries from which these<br />
people are fleeing conflict, are the same<br />
places we have inadvertently pillaged.<br />
Subsequently, I can understand their<br />
wanting to partake in the prosperity<br />
that the sacrifice of their homelands has<br />
helped generate.<br />
In Australia, you can let your children out to play<br />
Handcut paper, 40 x 20cm, 2011<br />
$990<br />
Pamela was born 1979 and is a Brisbane-based artist who practices contemporary papercutting. She<br />
graduated from Queensland College of Art in 1999 and has exhibited broadly in Australia and China. She<br />
specialised in folk art after moving to Central Queensland in 2003 and became engaged with a small<br />
Chinese community in Mackay that congregated at the local Chinese Takeaway shop. Subsequently,<br />
migratory and invasive species became a key focus of her artwork and this led to a rapid development in<br />
her career. In 2004, one of her papercut installations was selected for an emerging artist program run by<br />
the Queensland Art Gallery. In 2005, she received a grant from the Australia China Council for a mentorship<br />
to study papercutting across regional China. In 2006, she undertook a residency at the Pickled Art Centre<br />
in Beijing courtesy of a Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor’s Young and Emerging Artist Fellowship. Since<br />
then her papercuts have been translated into a variety of industrial materials including stainless steel,<br />
granite and glass. Collections include The National Gallery of Australia, The Art Gallery of South Australia,<br />
the University of Queensland Art Museum, Chinachem Group and Swires Properties International.<br />
for we are young and free 59
the winged collective<br />
victoria<br />
Harvest<br />
Cotton paper, glass, Perspex, turmeric, charcoal, talc, paprika, fluorescent lights, 40 x 80 x 44cm, 2012, $2200<br />
In a future where butterflies become an<br />
endangered species due to the lack of vegetation<br />
for them to feed on, the wing dust of the Monarch<br />
Butterfly will be harvested as a reminder of their<br />
existence. The butterflies are not killed during<br />
his process, the dust is extracted from each wing<br />
leaving an albino butterfly that can feed off artificial light. The<br />
dust is kept in the hope that the vegetation will grow back<br />
and the dust can be restored on the wings of the Monarch.<br />
This piece makes reference to the pillaging of the earth’s<br />
resources, where something as common as the Monarch<br />
butterfly becomes endangered due to our lack of respect to<br />
our environment. The common butterfly is seen in many<br />
areas of Australia and rather than using an already extinct<br />
Australian animal our intention is to highlight the possible<br />
future extinction of a creature we currently take for granted.<br />
The Winged Collective<br />
are Dana Falcini and<br />
Carla Gottgens. As<br />
multidisciplinary artists<br />
they combine their<br />
respective art backgrounds<br />
to produce work inspired<br />
by nature with an urban<br />
twist. They have exhibited<br />
across Melbourne, in<br />
South Australia’s Brighton<br />
Jetty Sculpture exhibition<br />
and more recently in NSW<br />
where they won first prize at<br />
Sculpture on the Greens for<br />
their artwork titled Fetch.<br />
60 for we are young and free
david thomson<br />
victoria<br />
David was born<br />
in 1978 and is<br />
completing a Diploma<br />
Visual Art at Victoria<br />
University. Key to his<br />
practice is making<br />
collages of faces using<br />
facial features from<br />
images gleaned from<br />
magazines and the<br />
internet in an attempt<br />
to create physical and<br />
psychological states.<br />
His subjects combine<br />
these different<br />
fragments to build<br />
a portrait that will<br />
capture various mental<br />
predicaments. The<br />
resulting works show<br />
how integral the face<br />
is to communicating,<br />
revealing pathos<br />
when at times verbal<br />
communication fails.<br />
Untitled (Changes # 2)<br />
Acrylic & oil on canvas panel, 22 x 22cm, 2012<br />
NFS<br />
Over the past year I was looking heavily into Picasso’s cubist portraits and<br />
his approach of facial fragmentation to describe identity crisis. In an age<br />
overwhelmed by advances in technology and social media it is now easier for<br />
people (particularly youth) to develop and control representations of their<br />
own identity via these platforms. These self-constructed identities are not<br />
always necessarily who we really are. Our interior (personality, emotions,<br />
feelings, thoughts) is superseded and neglected in favour of exterior (appearance, attire,<br />
demographic, branding) until we become subservient to these customized personas. Yes<br />
we are young but, how free?<br />
for we are young and free 61
sj thomson<br />
victoria<br />
Plateia 1<br />
Ink & watercolour pencil on paper, 21 x 28cm, 2007, NFS<br />
This work is set in Legion<br />
Thornleigh, a desert land<br />
with a wide ocean at one<br />
end and a flat plain that<br />
drops off into space at<br />
the other. There are separate islands<br />
within the ocean that are deserted but<br />
cities do exist on land. These cities or<br />
‘architecture’ are inhabited with various<br />
species. They have the ability to transport<br />
themselves to other locations in case of<br />
geographical disasters, or inclement<br />
weather. These species are able to ‘jump’<br />
time; that is to retrace their steps so as<br />
to rewrite history.<br />
SJ was born in 1969 and has been diagnosed with a<br />
series of mental health issues, including borderline<br />
personality disorder, dissociative disorder and<br />
general anxiety and depression. This, along with a<br />
history of abuse and trauma, has severely impacted<br />
his life since his teenage years. This has seriously<br />
impeded the pursuit of his career/passion/interest<br />
as an artist and access to relevant education due<br />
to his circumstances. Regardless of all that, SJ has<br />
managed to make art and music and his work is<br />
held in The Drawing Center Museum in New York.<br />
He has composed music for dance (various works<br />
in New York 1990s-2000s) and performance art<br />
(Spanky 2012 Midsummer Festival) and released<br />
cd’s/soundscapes independently . He has also<br />
shown in exhibitions both solo and group in USA,<br />
Germany and Australia.<br />
62 for we are young and free
mary van den broek<br />
victoria<br />
Hands and their many<br />
uses are a recurring<br />
theme in my recent<br />
work as a metaphor<br />
for our shared<br />
humanity. This work<br />
depicts the evolution of Australia<br />
in the last two to three hundred<br />
years. The bottom layers of maps<br />
show the spread of indigenous<br />
languages throughout Australia<br />
prior to colonisation by European<br />
hands. Meshed together above are<br />
maps of the countries that people<br />
have immigrated from to influence<br />
modern Australia. The hands point<br />
in different directions, symbolising<br />
the different directions we come<br />
from. Even if language is a<br />
barrier, hands can always be used<br />
for communication. No matter<br />
where we are descended from, it<br />
is my hope and firm belief that<br />
our future together can only be<br />
secured by reaching out to each<br />
other with open hands.<br />
Mary grew up on a dairy farm in Western<br />
Victoria and worked as an Occupational<br />
Therapist for over 20 years. Over the past<br />
10 years she has pursued an interest<br />
in sculpture, making work and showing<br />
in exhibitions including the Melbourne<br />
International Flower and Garden Show. In<br />
2009 she completed Honours in Visual Art<br />
(Sculpture) at the University of Ballarat.<br />
Public art commissions include St John<br />
of God Hospital in Ballarat. Her works can<br />
be viewed at www. marysculptor.com.au.<br />
Hands of Australia<br />
Fiberglass & paper maps<br />
65 x 25 x 20cm, 2012<br />
$650<br />
for we are young and free 63
liezel van der linde<br />
victoria<br />
Welcome<br />
Mixed Media, 54 x 42 x 14cm, 2012<br />
$1000<br />
Being an<br />
immigrant myself<br />
my heart lies<br />
closely linked<br />
to the path that<br />
immigrants follow<br />
to adapt to a new country.<br />
This work portrays the idea<br />
that the road to freedom is<br />
often paved with hardship.<br />
Children are often seen as<br />
more adaptable than adults<br />
and in the case of immigrant<br />
children, it is also a widespread<br />
belief. Through interacting<br />
with immigrant children and<br />
in particular the model, I<br />
have come to realise that the<br />
loneliness these children often<br />
face is a hardship frequently<br />
overlooked. Lots of children<br />
have been displaced, packed up<br />
so to say, to a new environment<br />
and even though Australia,<br />
as a country, is a place of<br />
welcome freedom, these<br />
children can experience their<br />
first integration into society as<br />
a lone walk.<br />
Liezel grew up the daughter of a South African artist, teacher and potter. She studied at the University of<br />
Pretoria in South Africa completing her Bachelor of Art in Information Design. She worked in the South<br />
African advertising industry for 9 years, developing a career as an Art Director. Still feeling the pull towards<br />
Fine <strong>Arts</strong>, she gave up design and started painting full time in 2009. She exhibited twice in South Africa in<br />
2010 before immigrating to Australia where she continues to pursue her artistic career.<br />
64 for we are young and free
gary walker<br />
victoria<br />
Gary a 25 year-old emerging<br />
artist. He completed a Bachelor<br />
of Design in 2007 and a Master<br />
of Architecture at RMIT University<br />
in 2010. He has been painting<br />
consistently for many years while<br />
studying and working in these<br />
related fields, which has allowed<br />
him to avoid destitution while he<br />
develops his practice. His work<br />
has been exhibited in numerous<br />
group and solo exhibitions in<br />
Melbourne and been selected<br />
as a finalist in national awards<br />
including the Adelaide Perry Prize<br />
for Drawing, Lethbridge 10000,<br />
BSG Works on Paper Award,<br />
Agendo Art Award and shortlisted<br />
for this year’s Metro Art Award.<br />
More of his work can be viewed at<br />
www.garywalkerart.com.<br />
Patriot<br />
Oil & acrylic on canvas, 61 x 46cm, 2011<br />
NFS<br />
My process is to isolate found mass culture images from their original context.<br />
I aim to achieve a sense of neutrality and detachment by sourcing very still,<br />
deadpan images and by avoiding overtly dramatic or emotional content. My<br />
work is not explicitly personal but instead portrays dispassionate observations<br />
of contemporary culture. Overt displays of Australian patriotism have had<br />
both positive and negative connotations in the media. My aim with this work is to remain<br />
neutral on any politically charged context and instead pose a question to the viewer.<br />
for we are young and free 65
james wallace<br />
victoria<br />
Sport-fishing series #1<br />
Archival digital print (Edition of 20), 42 x 59.5cm (framed 63 x 78.5cm) 2012, $250 framed, $95 unframed<br />
James likes to document his world in detail. He<br />
carries a camera with him most places he goes.<br />
Many of his photographs portray local activities<br />
in his hometown in southwest Victoria. His<br />
Sportfishing series captures the tuna season when<br />
hundreds of recreational fishermen descend on the town. The<br />
fishing precinct becomes a hive of activity as the daily catch is<br />
unloaded and tuna are cleaned and filleted at the water’s edge.<br />
Concern for the environment is central to James’ practice. He<br />
likes to look closely at the beauty in nature and worries that we<br />
are not doing enough to protect it.<br />
Text Carmel Wallace<br />
James was born in 1978<br />
and lives at Portland in<br />
regional Victoria. He has<br />
been taking photographs<br />
for as long as he can<br />
remember. He has been<br />
involved in a number of<br />
group shows in his local<br />
community and produced<br />
two solo exhibitions: Digital<br />
Works at Portland Bay<br />
Press in 2003, and James<br />
in Spain at the Portland<br />
Library in 2011.<br />
66 for we are young and free
sally walshe<br />
victoria<br />
Breath<br />
Linocut (Edition 4 of 10), 70 x 100cm, 2010<br />
$400<br />
This work features a mother and her young<br />
child roaming the land. The wind is strong,<br />
the terrain is rough and the journey is<br />
arduous. As a single mother sometimes<br />
it can be overwhelming. “Can I do this?”<br />
is a common feeling among single parents at times.<br />
Some women can find themselves raising their children<br />
unsupported and alone, simply because they had the<br />
courage to leave destructive and damaging relationships<br />
in order to be free. This image is a beautiful and<br />
empowering representation to what it is to live a free life,<br />
despite the social, economic, emotional and financial<br />
hardship that can come with this freedom.<br />
Sally lives in Melbourne but<br />
was born in 1979 in Vancouver,<br />
Canada. She finished a Diploma<br />
of Visual Art at CAE in 2011 and<br />
has been a finalist for a number<br />
of group shows including the<br />
She exhibitions at Walker Street<br />
Gallery (2009-12) and Works<br />
on Paper at the City Library<br />
(2008-09). She has produced<br />
two solo exhibitions at <strong>Arts</strong>pace<br />
in MacKay, Queensland in 2007<br />
and The Gallery at St Kilda Town<br />
Hall earlier this year.<br />
for we are young and free 67
oksana waterfall<br />
new south wales<br />
Cassia Court, Graphite on rag paper, 71 x 91cm, 2011, $1100<br />
Have you ever thought about<br />
all the people you come across<br />
in your life? This drawing is<br />
of the people of my court. I<br />
focused on the individuals one<br />
by one to build the composite.<br />
They are the people I come home to every<br />
day. There are the children who play in my<br />
small street, the parents, the older residents,<br />
the neighbours and their pets. It is a small<br />
universe, but rich in detail and emotion. The<br />
way our lives criss-cross and intersect is what<br />
holds me. I am intrigued how such a group<br />
of people, thrown together by an accident of<br />
geography, can become my community.<br />
Oksana is a visual artist based on the North<br />
Coast of NSW. She has worked professionally<br />
as a graphic designer and ceramicist<br />
and recently completed her postgraduate<br />
Advanced Diploma in Fine <strong>Arts</strong>. Her recent<br />
work has been an artistic inventory of the<br />
many people to come into her life: family,<br />
friends, friends of friends, neighbours. She is<br />
exploring the idea that we focus on one person<br />
in the cluster, then another - but we don’t have<br />
time to take in all the details. Her drawings<br />
give Oksana the chance to freeze time and<br />
study the individuals, the group, parts of the<br />
group and all the relationships in between. By<br />
keeping her images small, she hopes to draw<br />
the viewer in to see the details they might<br />
otherwise miss.<br />
68 for we are young and free
david williams<br />
victoria<br />
Beach Beauty<br />
Sandstone, 60 x 60 x 30cm, 2010, $3300<br />
This is one of a<br />
series of sandstone<br />
sculptures that<br />
reflect upon<br />
Australia’s much<br />
used and loved<br />
coastline and its accessibility to<br />
all ages and cultures. These shell<br />
sculptures are created with the<br />
medium that is the fabric of the<br />
land we all share.<br />
David currently works carving stone sculptures.<br />
This has been a natural progression from<br />
23 years as a stonemason in the U.K and<br />
Australia. He began working with stone in 1988<br />
on restoration projects in London. Eventually<br />
this led to work on Exeter Cathedral where<br />
he was taught how to carve ornate gothic<br />
stonework. Since being in Melbourne he has<br />
worked as a heritage restoration stonemason<br />
and been commissioned for several projects.<br />
His sculptural work intentionally uses the<br />
traditional medium of stone, incorporating skills<br />
that have been passed down for centuries.<br />
for we are young and free 69
joe wilson<br />
new south wales<br />
As Mountain As Man<br />
Acrylic on linen, 68.5 x 58cm, 2012, $800<br />
As Mountain As Man is a metaphoric representation of a<br />
conceptual duality, whereby the high and low of the mountain<br />
is each an extreme. The journey is the traversing of extremes;<br />
repression leading to freedom leading to repression...<br />
Joe was born in Sydney in 1980 and completed a Bachelor of Fine <strong>Arts</strong> at the National<br />
Art School, Sydney in 2009. He has been exhibiting through artist run initiatives for three<br />
years and selected for various prizes in commercial galleries.<br />
70 for we are young and free
patrick woolfe<br />
represented by Cooindahill<br />
victoria<br />
Patrick is an artist living<br />
with autism from Taralgon<br />
in Gippsland, Victoria.<br />
Dancing People<br />
Watercolour<br />
35 x 26cm, 2011<br />
$120<br />
I have been been pursuing art for many years working in different mediums<br />
including acrylic, pastel, watercolour and ink. At this stage of my life I enjoy<br />
watercolours and ink. I have exhibited and sold works in many galleries and<br />
exhibitions, including the Linden Centre for Contemporary Art in St Kilda.<br />
for we are young and free 71
patrick walker<br />
represented by Friday Leisurely Art Group<br />
victoria<br />
I Love A Sunburnt Country<br />
Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20cm, 2012<br />
$50<br />
I recently collaborated with English<br />
artist, Robert Needham who was making<br />
art for Park Towers and also working<br />
with the residents. The work involved<br />
gold leafing everyday objects which was<br />
an interesting diversion from my main<br />
practice of painting Australian landscapes in acrylic<br />
on canvas.<br />
Patrick began life in Australia as<br />
a five-year old migrant, arriving on<br />
the SS Orient in 1960. He is a self<br />
taught artist who has shown works in<br />
group shows at Prahran Mission and<br />
recently became a member of FLAG<br />
art class at the Sol Green Community<br />
Centre in South Melbourne.<br />
72 for we are young and free
mr wright<br />
victoria<br />
Piff<br />
Oil on canvas, 60 x 60cm, 2012<br />
$888<br />
This is a painting by an artist feeling increasingly<br />
appreciative and connected to WWII soldiers who<br />
with their efforts helped form what our country<br />
is today. Conversely, I feel increasingly detached<br />
from modern day Australia and the ignorance and<br />
obsession with self of many of my peers.<br />
Matt is an Australian<br />
artist born in 1986<br />
who is currently based<br />
in Melbourne.<br />
for we are young and free 73
leanne prussing<br />
new south wales<br />
Liam Haven<br />
30 x 38cm, Reproduction of original acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70cm, 2011, NFS<br />
Leanne is a Port Macquarie based artist and finalist in the 2011 Sulman Prize at the Art<br />
Gallery of NSW. Her figurative works explore a multitude of facets of contemporary Australian<br />
life and culture. This work is from a series on returned servicemen who have suffered<br />
catastrophic injuries while serving our country. She hopes to promote a greater awareness<br />
and appreciation of their courage and sacrifice and the need for our continued support and<br />
appreciation. More of her work can be viewed at leanneprussingart.blogspot.com.au.<br />
74 for we are young and free
Originally from West Australia, Liam Haven is a 24 year old returned serviceman and<br />
combat medic who was engaged in peacekeeping service in East Timor as well as active<br />
service in Iraq.<br />
While in Iraq, he was injured in a roadside bomb accident, resulting in the loss of his<br />
sight. He suffered from severe depression and various PTSD symptoms and underwent<br />
a long and painful rehabilitation process; having to relearn all the basic things people<br />
take for granted. He is now, however, quite confident with the use of his mobility cane<br />
and guide dog Omen. Liam says, “even with my small disability, I try not to let it hinder<br />
me.”<br />
In the 4 years since the accident, he taught himself guitar and is working on an album<br />
of original songs. He acknowledges this as a crucial aspect to his recovery process.<br />
Liam has also travelled overseas, bungy jumped, sky dived, and has driven cars, boats<br />
and jet skis – proving that his impairment “does not need to get in the way of having<br />
a good old fashioned fun time.” As part of his rehabilitation and return to work plan,<br />
he is undertaking university level education in Community Services. He has been on<br />
placement with Mind Australia’s Amaroo <strong>Arts</strong> in Williamstown, proving himself an<br />
indispensable part of the music program (giving lessons to anyone willing to learn).<br />
His goal is to become a psychologist, working with people who have been through<br />
similar traumatic experiences.<br />
Liam was awarded the Pride of Australia Medal and is now a key spokesperson for<br />
Soldier On – a charity addressing the needs of younger veterans.<br />
The opening night of this exhibition provides Liam with one of his first professional<br />
engagements as a performing musician.
sales enquiries<br />
Sales enquiries for any of the works in the<br />
catalogue can be made by contacting the<br />
curator Ken Wong on 0419 570 846<br />
If you are interested in becoming<br />
involved in the Toyota Community Spirit<br />
Gallery program or wish to be added to<br />
our mailing list to be kept informed of<br />
upcoming events, email<br />
info@watcharts.com.au or visit<br />
www.watcharts.com.au/toyota.html<br />
or phone 03 58214548<br />
Mandarin Peel by Anne McGrath<br />
Capture Format – Super 16 mm film & Red. Exhibition Format – DVD, 2009 © Photograph Stefan Duscio