This Aboriginal round painting “The Dreaming is still Alive” by artist Tony Wilson is an Acknowledgment to Country, Kaurna County. The art acknowledges the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we meet and pays respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging.
Aboriginal artwork explained by artist Tony Wilson
We acknowledge we are on Kaurna Miyurna land. The dreaming is still living. From the past, in the present, into the future, forever.
It is a story about taking a journey, both individually and collectively. An Acknowledgement that we meet here on Kaurna Country and are taking the journey toward a deeper connection with our environment, each other and ourselves.
It’s important we sit together and share our perspectives and our stories. It’s important we increase our understanding of each other through open conversations that invite the heart not just mind. When we create relationships through understanding, trust and respect, we walk together on the journey toward a better future. We share this land together, today.
Symbols found throughout these artworks explained
The ripples represent the interconnectivity between individuals, communities and environment.
It reminds us of the impact people and environment have on one another and that our choices and actions make a difference.
The 3 Kurraka (magpies) and 3 Tarnda (Red Kangaroo) are important totems for Kaurna people and represent the ever-present living culture of the past to the present and into the future.
The Tarnda (Kangaroo) tracks represent every person’s journey from diverse backgrounds coming together to share this meeting place.
About: Tony Wilson
Heavily influenced by his cultural heritage, interactions with people and the environment, artist Tony Wilson brings the focus to the “space between us”. “I hope to create visual expressions that draw our attention back into the present…and reconnect us to our inner-selves.”
Tony’s life has been marked by the ‘spaces between’ and his creative work is a vehicle to communicate and create interludes for others to step in to, to stop and pause, to reconnect with the deeper, quieter parts of themselves. To observe, listen and deeply engage, not just ‘look at’.
Tony traces his lineage from Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri and Nurangga Nations through his mother and Italian heritage from Umbria and Puglia through his father. His creative process awakens the artistic practice he inherits from both cultures. He delves into portraiture, using oils as a medium, echoing the tradition of Italian church/religious art. He employs the contemporary use of acrylics and the symbolic use of dots by Aboriginal artists using abstract form to express his deeper historical story and connection.
The Switch.
