The Tarnanthi Festival will shine a light on some of Australia's most talented Indigenous artists this October.
A Kaurna word from the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains, Tarnanthi means to come forth, similar to the first light which appears out of the darkness. The Festival will feature exhibitions from a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and seeks to challenge existing notions of Aboriginal art.
One renowned artist that will be exhibiting at the festival is Brian Robinson. Brian works with various mediums such as painting, sculpture and design, and is heavily influenced by the customs and traditions of his Torres Strait islander background.
What does art mean to you?
Art is everything, art is life. I create art, speak about art, write about art, and when I sleep I dream about art, I would eat art if I could. My drive as an artist is the conceptual creation and fabrication of art itself and as artists – visually and mentally enhanced individuals, we see the world as how it should be and not as it is. I have been creating art for that long now that I couldn’t imagine life without that aspect.
When did you first become interested in art?I often say that I was born with a pencil in my hand because I gravitated to art from a very young age. No flat surface was taboo... I drew on, hand painted on, spray painted on and marker penned everything – paper, cardboard, plastic, walls in the house, the back yard fence, windows, basketball backboards. You name it, I drew on it. If compared to a graffiti artist, my tags were everywhere.
Even though I was a child growing up in the Torres Straits, I was still influenced by television, by comic books and other publications. I used to sit at the kitchen table for hours on end sketching from imagination, from memory, comic books (Spiderman, Superman and the Phantom) or the Woman’s Weekly – just anything I could get my hands on.
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Are you the only artist in your family?
In my immediate and extended family, no, but I’m probably the only one who has gone into full-time practice, making it my career. There are many creative spirits scattered throughout my family on both my mother’s side and father’s side. You could say therefore that I come from a long line of artistically inspired and crafty individuals. Even my children show traits of a creative spark spending ever-increasing amounts of time at the dining room table, much the same way I did when growing up on Waiben.
Who are some artists that have inspired you?
I am inspired by numerous artists that cover the spectrum of arts practice that I am compelled to dabble in. Because of my love of the Renaissance period I would definitely have to include Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti Simoni, Albrecht Dürer.
Due to my fascination with graphic art and printmaking I would need to encompass Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher and fellow Australian printmaker Rew Hanks.
With my love of cartoons and fantasy scapes I need to involve Walt Disney and Theodore Seuss Geisel ['Dr. Seuss']. Looking at sculpture I am inspired by the public works of Donna Marcus and installations by Aboriginal artist Jonathan Jones and finally from an indigenous cultural perspective I would include senior mentors Kenneth Thaiday Sr, Allson Edrick Tabuai as well as basket weaver Abe Muriata and the late Lin Onus.
Malud-gamul Githalai (2012)What do you want people to feel when they see your artwork?
My artwork rewards the act of looking. This is of course true of looking at the artwork of many artists. However, my work distinguishes itself in the fascinating quality of fantastic hybrid imagery, but additionally in the clear and apparent joy of the creative act. The longer you look at the intricate designs and visual gamesmanship that underpin individual works, the more I hope you sense and share in my delight in the artistic process and the endless possibilities that art offers me. Patience is a virtue, creation a gift.
I’m not classified as a traditional Indigenous artist: I look at concepts and themes that often remove me from the bigger picture of Indigenous arts practice and places my creative output within the contemporary arts realm but scratch away at the surface and you will soon discover the work’s aboriginality, often hidden and subtle but still present.
You've been described as being inspired by the myths and legends of the Torres Strait, is there any particular myth that has influenced you a lot?
The myths and legends of Torres Strait have been infused within my arts practice for some time now and I often draw upon them from time to time when creating works of art. When I first started off they were definitely the central inspiration that grounded my works but as time has gone on this focus has shifted from Islander centric myths to a more global view of this genre. The works that I create now are often a mixture of cultural influences from around the world, hybrid imagery that infuses Indigenous Australian culture with a global exchange of ideologies that reinvigorate contemporary arts practice and traditional storytelling.
The one Torres Strait myth that has influenced me the most would have to be the Legend of Kuiam, a fierce warrior from Mabuiag. The interesting thing about this myth is that it begins as an aboriginal legend from Cairns, which slowly unravels across Cape York Peninsula and ends up in the Torres Strait thus uniting both indigenous cultural groups in Australia.
Where else do you get inspiration from?
Being a visual person, I get inspiration from my surroundings, everything I see, taste, touch, read and experience and I can’t control when and where these inspirational moments come to life. I often have Walter Mitty moments where I find myself venturing off into my creative cosmology realm, gazing off into space watching works of art come to life before my very eyes.
My wife and children are also an important source of inspiration. The support, humour and mountains of toys and other visual paraphernalia that lies about the house are often vital foundation light bulb moments for my artistic life. The boundless energy and curiosity they possess is often mirrored and interwoven throughout my work.
What is your favourite art medium to work with?
I work with numerous art mediums given my diverse practice but if I were to choose one medium I would select drawing in all its forms. The art of drawing is the foundation of a visual arts practice and it is the first medium that artists are required to master. It is definitely the basis of my artistic and creative output from which all other creative sources ebb and flow.
You work with a variety of mediums but are there any that you haven't tried that you would like to experiment with in the future?
In three words – three-dimensional printing. I am very intrigued by the overall process and the final product but something much more exciting is the infinite possibilities that it conjures. I am currently investigating the setup, requirements and potentialities that this new toy will offer my future artistic practice. I will need to extend upon my current studio and workshop facility, taking over more of the yard before this can occur unfortunately.
I often gravitate towards graphic novels and cartoons so I would also be interested in looking at the potential of developing animation, which would bring my static two-dimensional and three-dimensional works to life so to speak.
You Will Travel In The Land Of Marvels (2015)What are you working on at the moment?
Projects currently being worked on at present range from solo and group exhibition works [which include sculpture and printmaking], public art commissions [from concept designs to design development to fabrication and installation], residencies and workshop tuition as well as experimental pieces. These projects and accompanying works span the next 2 years of my life, which will ultimately feed into future projects and exhibitions.
