Aboriginal Artwork Bundaberg

The September School Holiday Pocket Guide produced by our Organisation will feature the work of Bundaberg Aboriginal man, Clinton Beezley.

It’s been a fantastic opportunity for our organisation to work with Mr Beezley on the artwork and we can’t wait to see it feature in our September Guide!

Mr Beezley, originally from Eidsvold, learnt the skills of traditional painting from his brother while visiting him in Toowoomba many years ago.

My brother was attending school in Toowoomba, doing a course in Aboriginal Painting and he taught me all about it, Mr Beezley said.

We wanted to work alongside local residents in producing this Guide, recognising community members by publishing content about their stories and the history of our region. Bundaberg has a fascinating and diverse history and our cultural heritage is featured in the September Guide.  Mr Beezley’s artwork compliments this perfectly.

Mr Beezley has explained that his artwork features the River and native animals – the Emu (and her eggs); the Barramundi; the Turtle; and the Snake (featuring suns).

Artwork copywritten to Clinton Beezley and must not be reproduced without his permission. Reproduced here with permission.

The following information has been taken from the Australia.Gov website and the full original article can be read here.

Australian Indigenous art is the oldest ongoing tradition of art in the world. Initial forms of artistic Aboriginal expression were rock carvings, body painting and ground designs, which date back more than 30,000 years.

The quality and variety of Australian Indigenous art produced today reflects the richness and diversity of Indigenous culture and the distinct differences between tribes, languages, dialects and geographic landscapes. Art has always been an important part of Aboriginal life, connecting past and present, the people and the land, and the supernatural and reality.

Indigenous art ranges across a wide variety of mediums from works on paper and canvas to fibre and glass. Introduced media such as printmaking, fabric printing, ceramics and glassware now complement traditional arts and crafts.

The story of the way these art forms are produced runs parallel to the history and experiences of the artists themselves. It reflects customary trading patterns, a struggle for survival and the influence of governments and churches.

A market in Indigenous artefacts has existed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples since they first came into contact. After colonisation, artefact sales occurred on a widespread basis throughout south-eastern Australia.

The prominence of Indigenous art is due in part to the motivation and considerable effort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, particularly painters, who have played a major role in introducing both Australia and the rest of the world to Australia’s Indigenous cultures. The Western Desert art movement has come to be seen as one of the most significant art movements of the 20th century.