Welcome to Country by Uncle Bob Anderson at the opening of Singing Up Spirit of the Land. Raymond Walker eldest grandson of Oodgeroo of the Tribe Noonuccal reads his grandmothers poem Glad Tomorrow, blessing song and Garinga da Gana. He shares the translation. Film and editing by Paul Bishop.
Singing Up Spirit of the Land, March 28 – May 9 2021
Distinguished Ngugi elder and Quandamooka Traditional Owner Uncle Bob Anderson (Dr. Robert Anderson OAM) is the focus of art exhibition Singing Up Spirit of the Land. Contemporary digital and painted portrait work capture not just likeness of the elder, but spiritual meaning behind sand minings end on Minjerribah, North Stradbroke Island in 2019, a result of native title determinations granted to the Quandamooka peoples in 2011. The integrity of these artworks are testament to an enduring relationship between Aboriginal elder Uncle Bob Anderson and artist Jo Fay Duncan who identifies as an ecological artist and second generation Scot, residing on Quandamooka Country.
At 92, Uncle Bob is a living legend. His legacy concerns not only Native Title determinations over Quandamooka Country but also Aboriginal rights in the work place. These artworks are a tribute to him, an honouring of the ancestors and hope for a better world for our descendants.
This exhibition encapsulate a body of work that articulates a remarkable window, to the complex and living culture of those of and living on Quandamooka country; both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal at the time of minings end on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). It bespeaks of reconciliation in action in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations and in our collective relationship to Country – be it the homelands of our ancestors or those of anothers.
Magical Creatures
As an artist I work in many media from drawing and works on paper, to projection and sound scape. In contrast to the high tech of digital imaging recent works are assemblage sculptures simply made of drift wood and feathers all found on the wetlands and beaches of my island home.
Attached are a gathering of these supernatural beings, suspended infront of shadows almost more alive than they are. Snake Bird to me is almost a creational being, there is an elephant posing as a dragonfly and another is the scull of a unicorn wolf. Winged Three Legged Horse promises sublime journeys through the ether. All were in a group exhibition part of Canaipa Mudlines: Environmental Art at Redlands Art Gallery, Nandeebie in the Quandamooka Australia.
Spirit Man Walking Country Once More
2019 is the year mining is set to end on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), thanks to Native Title determinations of 2011.
This portrait came about after two years of audio recording with Uncle Bob Anderson. The swirling spirit of the land is seen here behind and below Spirit Man as he replaces the footprints of the ancestors on former mining lease. The process involved in the painting of this work, is one of reconciliation in action recognising this momentous occasion in Australia’s post-colonial history.
Gheebulum, Uncle Bob Anderson
Dr Robert V Anderson OAM, Uncle Bob is a Nughi (Moreton Island) elder and patriarch of Quandamooka. This 2010 portrait image of Uncle Bob – Gheebulum (traditional name for the Moreton Island sandhill dune) connected Uncle Bob and Jo Fay Duncan intimately.
Pre-dating the native title determinations on Minjerriba, it speaks something of the 17- year struggle to have the traditional homelands of Quandamooka returned to Aboriginal peoples. Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) is currently under Native Title claim.
Uncle Bob Anderson is a long-time collaborator with Jo Fay Duncan.
Salt Water Country to Western Desert
Met Warlayirti artists of desert Country in Wirrimanu, south-east Kimberley in 2006. Then again 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017 travelling from the Tanami Desert to Cape Leveque – from salt-water country in the north-east, to desert country.
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Sensory Upgrade
Sketch book drawings made on retreat in Tajakula Provence of northern Bali 2018.
The Meditative Mind
Sarasvati in the regency of Buleleng, island of Bali
Tejakula is a district in the regency of Buleleng in Northern Bali. I am in retreat here three times over the next three years.
Balinese people represents a distinct form of Hindu worship incorporating local animism, ancestor worship or Pitru Paksha and reverence for Buddhist saints or Bodhisattava.
The fundamental principle underlying Hinduism is that there is order in the cosmos, known as dharma. There is also a disordering force, adharma. Hindus seek balance and harmony between these two forces, thus freeing themselves from the never-ending cycle of reincarnation, attaining a state called moksa.[6][7] Continue reading “Sarasvati in the regency of Buleleng, island of Bali”
Sky Reading
SKY READING
Weatherwise is the sea wo/man’s ability to read the sky and refers to lore of clouds and sky colour bequeathed by past generations of seaman and country folk and it is an art to read them
SKY COLOUR
Red Sky at Night, sailor’s delight;
Red sky in the morning, Sailor’s warning.
CLOUDS
HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS
Noctilucent
Shine after dark on clear nights are the highest clouds found at around 50miles above earth and consist of ice-coated particles from outer space.
Cirrus (High level) clouds are the most common type of cloud then and whips meaning ground-level wind will soon strengthen.
Cirrocumulus
‘mackerel sky’ clouds consist entirely of ice crystals and appear as white patches or spherical masses arranged in regular patterns like ripples of sand in the sky. But with air movement the clouds can look to be like markings on a mackerel.
MIDDLE LEVEL CLOUDS
Altostratus
These clouds are associated with cold fronts often forming at night when temperatures are low. Appearing as rolls arranged in lines or waves.
LOW LEVEL CLOUDS
Cumulus
Fleecy and seperate from each other it allows the sun to shine directly on the clouds, so they appear very white with clearly defined edges.
Stratus
Most common near mountains and coasts and if at ground level it appears as fog which clears by way of evaporation of its lowest layer, and remaining fog becomes stratus cloud. Often forming overnight in fine weather especially over water.
Cumulonimbus
These deep and large clouds have a menacing appearance produce thunder storms, hailstorms and tornados and torrential snow or rain. Illuminated from within by Lightning sparking.
Stratocumulus
Rolls or rounded masses of darker clouds giving a textured appearance. Converging rays of light are created at dawn and suck with sunlight shining through any gaps illuminating dust particles.
MOON
Haleos
Moon Glade