STUDIO education resource - Museums & Galleries NSW

JULIE DOWLING
JULIE DOWLING
PERTH, WA
Julie Dowling is an Indigenous artist of the West Australian Badimaya/
Yamatji language group. She lives in Perth with her mother and twin sister
and her studio is a demountable trailer set up in the backyard. Her studio
had a previous life as temporary accommodation for miners in the Pilbara
region of Western Australia.
Dowling is passionate about putting into paint the stories of her community
and her ancestors. Ian Lloyd’s photograph of Dowling’s studio shows old
photographs pinned to the walls alongside fresh portraits. For Dowling, her
ancestors are ever present and their stories directly inform her painting.
Often when Dowling is painting, she has company – friends and family sit
around sharing stories and opinions and this ‘yarning’ makes its way into
her paintings. In her own words, ‘I don’t feel that the work itself is mine,
even when I’m painting. It belongs to my community. It may sound strange,
but that’s how it is.’
Dowling and her twin sister were born in 1966 with fair skin. Dowling’s
paintings assert her Aboriginality, connecting the past and the present and
keeping alive the oral histories of her people.
Look closely at the
photograph of Dowling in her
studio and describe some of
the other things that you can
see in her studio that might
influence her work.
Look at Dowling’s painting.
Experiment by using drawn
patterns to create, hide and
reveal words in your work.
Ian Lloyd’s portrait
of Dowling shows the artist
surrounded by other portraits.
If you were photographed by
ian Lloyd what type of things
would you choose to be
surrounded by?
Make a list of the things that
would be in the background
of the photograph if you
were photographed in your
bedroom.
Read ABC interview including Dowling and her twin Carol:
www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s1590834.htm
Explore the NGA’s collection of her work:
www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvschools/TraditionAndTransformation/artists/Julie-Dowling/
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