Fiona Omeenyo & Rosella Namok

Contemporary Indigenous art finds strong expression in the Works of Fiona Omeenyo and Rosella Namok. The artists come from Lockhart River community on Cape York in Northern Queensland. The stories they paint reflect the landscape and people of their homelands region.

The painters’ style, using thick layers of paint overlaid and scraped back to reveal earlier layers, gives a sense of the lush tropical landscape and bright light. It also reflects the importance of the people in recognising the meanings and stories associated with the land, the sea and the ceremonies that connect all of these together.

Fiona Omeenyo focuses on the importance of family and clan connections, depicting groups of people fishing and working the coastal regions and river estuaries. In essence the spirits of the people and their ancestors are suggested in the imagery, which is both human-like and representative of ancient rock engravings.

Rosella Namok creates images of the broader landscape, the seasons and the changing light as day merges into night. Her paintings of tropical rainstorms and the tidal patterns left by the Flow of the ocean suggest the importance of the natural rhythms of life and nature.

Both artists have a strong regional sense to their artwork, re-creating the larger patterns of life lived by indigenous people in this tropical region of Northern Australia.The exhibition is on display at Japingka Gallery until 29 August 2018.

Fiona Omeenyo

Rosella Namok