Indigenous artist Brian Robinson will be in conversation with staff from the University’s Yunggorendi First Nations Centre today (May 27) as part of Reconciliation Week.
Yunggorendi Director Simone Ulalka Tur and Senior Lecturer Ali Gumillya Baker will lead the conversation in the Flinders City Gallery, which is the setting for Brian Robinson’s current exhibition, Strait Protean.
An award-winning Cairns-based artist renowned for his bold multi-disciplinary practice encompassing painting, printmaking, sculpture and design, Brian Robinson grew up on the Torres Strait Islands.
The first Torres Strait Islander to be appointed a trainee curator through the Museums Australia Curatorial Internship program, he co-curated and managed the tour by the Cairns Regional Gallery of the first major touring exhibition and catalogue of the traditional and contemporary material culture of the Torres Strait Islander people.
He has since been officially involved in the development of the Indigenous art movement in Queensland. As well as completing internships at the National Museum of Australia and the National Gallery of Australia, he was Exhibitions Manager and Deputy Director of Cairns Regional Gallery until 2010, when he left to devote himself to full-time practice as an artist.
The graphic style in his practice combines his heritage with a strong passion for experimentation, both in theoretical approach and medium, as well as crossing the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The results combine styles as diverse as graffiti art through to intricate relief carvings and construction sculpture echoing images of Torres Strait cultural motifs, objects and activity.
The event will be at 10am in the Flinders City Gallery, which is located within the State Library on North Terrace, Adelaide.
The event is free, but places are limited. If you wish to attend, please register by phoning (08) 8207 7055 or email city.gallery@flinders.edu.au