WAYNE QUILLIAM - "Lowanna" - Photography
till October 20th, 2008
Quilliam's world and iconography is full with strong metaphor exploring spirituality and sublime creation seen from a natural point of view. By manipulating the human form with images from nature he seemingly impregnates his photographs with an essence of life and spirituality.
Quilliam analyses and deciphers images of the nude female form and of landscapes to engage the viewer. By deconstructing the myth of vulnerability and nudity, Quilliam's opulent abstractions seduces the subconscious to ponder the hidden.
The artist covers, hides and camouflages his works to deconstruct, create and recreate a naked reality. Encapsulated by spirituality of nature, the artist deliberately covers and exposes photographs to reveal tensions between the act of representation and reality.
Traditional Aboriginal stories and tales have influenced the artist's work to become increasingly intense, mysterious, and probing. Quilliam explains, "To interpret my work is akin to demystify the link between myth and reality, I am interested in the process of covering and uncovering the human element of nature; to find depth, meaning and perhaps even a revelation that we are the vision of a "creator". I'm intrigued by the differing perceptions of nudity and the role it plays in modern society" he adds.
Wayne Quilliam is one of Australia's most prominent Aboriginal photographic artists with more than 100 solo and group exhibitions in Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA.
He was born in 1963 in Hobart, Tasmania. In 1979 he left the small island state to join the Navy and explore the world. In 2008 he works and lives in Melbourne when not travelling to some of the most remote locations in Australia and touring the globe with his images. He continues to forge new expressions and dimensions in photographs through his culture and anticipates major growth in contemporary Indigenous art.
Wayne Quilliam
