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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

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