QUEENSLAND ARTISTS ROCK NATIONAL AWARDS: PREMIER
Published Saturday, 11 August, 2007 at 05:00 AM
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
Premier Peter Beattie has congratulated three talented Queenslanders who have taken out top honours in the 24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.
“On behalf of my fellow Queenslanders, I say well done and we are proud of you,” Mr Beattie said.
“Dennis Nona, from Badu Island, is growing an international following for his intricate work which is based on island tradition,” he said.
“Art is often used as a way of recording and passing down teachings to younger generations in the Torres Strait, and Dennis is a contemporary of this important tradition.”
Dennis won the coveted $40,000 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award – the major prize – for an intricately decorated bronze crocodile sculpture, measuring 3.5 metres long, which tells the story of a legend on the Mai Kusa river in Papua New Guinea.
Winning the $4,000 Telstra Works on Paper prize was Alick Tipoti, from the Torres Strait. Laurie Nilsen, from Queensland, won the $4,000 Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award.
“Indigenous artists in Queensland are producing contemporary works that are as vibrant as they are diverse and they are attracting attention around the world,” Mr Beattie said.
“Art is also providing a vital voice for the two distinct Indigenous groups – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – which pays homage to some 60,000 years of rich cultural tradition,” he said.
“Winning accolades like these prestigious awards, and exhibiting in the major galleries and art spaces across the globe, is helping to grow a very deep appreciation for this amazing Queensland talent.”
The Queensland Government, through the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency, promotes Indigenous artists through a range of national and international initiatives including publications and trade missions.
Biographical details of winners are below.
Media Contact: Premier’s Office – 07 3224 4500
BACKGROUND - BIOGRAPHIES
Dennis Nona
Widely acknowledged as one of Queensland’s leading Indigenous artists, Dennis was born in 1973 on Badu Island in the western Torres Strait.
Dennis Nona’s work can be seen in the collections of most of major Australian art institutions and in several important overseas collections, including: the National Gallery of Australia; Queensland Art Gallery; National Gallery of Victoria; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Cambridge University Museum UK and the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Lyon, France.
Dennis pioneered the development of the highly intricate linocut prints unique to the Torres Strait Islands. He has documented, in a vivid visual form, the ancient stories and traditions of his island and the wider Torres Strait that had previously been transmitted by oral story telling and dance.
Following his highly successful exhibition, assisted by the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA), at the Australian Embassy in Paris earlier this year, Dennis’ prints were shown at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie late last year presented the British Museum with Dennis’ work titled Sesserae as part of his campaign to promote Queensland Indigenous art in the major art markets and galleries around the world.
Alick Tipoti
Alick Tipoti is recognised as a major artist and printmaker whose distinctive work proudly celebrates his island heritage and home.
“My art is all about telling and illustrating the stories my father told to me.
The one thing I will never do is let my forefathers’ words be lost.”
He is represented in the Australian National Gallery, National Museum of Australia, numerous academic and regional gallery collections both within Australia and in the United Kingdom and New Caledonia.
In 1998 he won the coveted Lin Onus Youth Prize at the 4th National Indigenous Heritage Commission Art Awards. He is also the author of two books, Mura Migi Kaziba (For Every Little Child) and Kuiyku Mabaigal (Head People).
Laurie Nilsen
For more than 20 years Laurie Nilsen has been painting and making sculptures. A highly-respected Queensland artist whose work is held in the National Gallery of Australia, as well as private collections around the world, the themes in Laurie’s work include the environment and the politics of Aboriginality.
He has won the Queensland Aboriginal Artist of the Year three times.
Laurie’s work features strong references to Central Queensland, and the area around Roma.
“On behalf of my fellow Queenslanders, I say well done and we are proud of you,” Mr Beattie said.
“Dennis Nona, from Badu Island, is growing an international following for his intricate work which is based on island tradition,” he said.
“Art is often used as a way of recording and passing down teachings to younger generations in the Torres Strait, and Dennis is a contemporary of this important tradition.”
Dennis won the coveted $40,000 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award – the major prize – for an intricately decorated bronze crocodile sculpture, measuring 3.5 metres long, which tells the story of a legend on the Mai Kusa river in Papua New Guinea.
Winning the $4,000 Telstra Works on Paper prize was Alick Tipoti, from the Torres Strait. Laurie Nilsen, from Queensland, won the $4,000 Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award.
“Indigenous artists in Queensland are producing contemporary works that are as vibrant as they are diverse and they are attracting attention around the world,” Mr Beattie said.
“Art is also providing a vital voice for the two distinct Indigenous groups – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – which pays homage to some 60,000 years of rich cultural tradition,” he said.
“Winning accolades like these prestigious awards, and exhibiting in the major galleries and art spaces across the globe, is helping to grow a very deep appreciation for this amazing Queensland talent.”
The Queensland Government, through the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency, promotes Indigenous artists through a range of national and international initiatives including publications and trade missions.
Biographical details of winners are below.
Media Contact: Premier’s Office – 07 3224 4500
BACKGROUND - BIOGRAPHIES
Dennis Nona
Widely acknowledged as one of Queensland’s leading Indigenous artists, Dennis was born in 1973 on Badu Island in the western Torres Strait.
Dennis Nona’s work can be seen in the collections of most of major Australian art institutions and in several important overseas collections, including: the National Gallery of Australia; Queensland Art Gallery; National Gallery of Victoria; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Cambridge University Museum UK and the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Lyon, France.
Dennis pioneered the development of the highly intricate linocut prints unique to the Torres Strait Islands. He has documented, in a vivid visual form, the ancient stories and traditions of his island and the wider Torres Strait that had previously been transmitted by oral story telling and dance.
Following his highly successful exhibition, assisted by the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA), at the Australian Embassy in Paris earlier this year, Dennis’ prints were shown at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie late last year presented the British Museum with Dennis’ work titled Sesserae as part of his campaign to promote Queensland Indigenous art in the major art markets and galleries around the world.
Alick Tipoti
Alick Tipoti is recognised as a major artist and printmaker whose distinctive work proudly celebrates his island heritage and home.
“My art is all about telling and illustrating the stories my father told to me.
The one thing I will never do is let my forefathers’ words be lost.”
He is represented in the Australian National Gallery, National Museum of Australia, numerous academic and regional gallery collections both within Australia and in the United Kingdom and New Caledonia.
In 1998 he won the coveted Lin Onus Youth Prize at the 4th National Indigenous Heritage Commission Art Awards. He is also the author of two books, Mura Migi Kaziba (For Every Little Child) and Kuiyku Mabaigal (Head People).
Laurie Nilsen
For more than 20 years Laurie Nilsen has been painting and making sculptures. A highly-respected Queensland artist whose work is held in the National Gallery of Australia, as well as private collections around the world, the themes in Laurie’s work include the environment and the politics of Aboriginality.
He has won the Queensland Aboriginal Artist of the Year three times.
Laurie’s work features strong references to Central Queensland, and the area around Roma.