According to cultural practitioner and artist Dean Biŋkin Tyson (Quandamooka and Gurang), painting the body – in accordance with a particular story, Country, place and lore – is a ritual act of adornment and mark making. Being ‘painted up’ with ochre and pigment is a privilege. It is also the embodiment of culture and an act of resistance. These minimalist and abstract designs surpass applications to the human form. “We paint up our artefacts, our stories, our past and our future,” Tyson said.
Despite only recently dedicating to a full-time visual art practice, this body of work has been informed by decades of performing in southeast Queensland as a dancer, song man and playing bidiyamundu (the Goori word for didgeridoo). In this exhibition, the markings of his Elders are held with the highest of esteem; and here, Biŋkin generously shares some of the unique markings and stories of yulu burri ba – the people belonging to sand and sea.
Painted Up is part of a three-year project of artist-residency style exhibitions and activations, collectively titled CREATE EXCHANGE. The exhibition is presented at Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland and Redland Art Gallery, The Mezz at Redland Performing Arts Centre.
