For Blooms, Beasts and Beyond, Brian Robinson envelopes us in the early times, ‘in the beginning’, when the spirits and deities created the Islander world. A time where deities like Sida, Gelam, and Waiet created the attributes for each of the respective islands of the Torres Strait such as Moa, Mabuiag, and Mer. A time when the spirits and gods did not exist in a separate realm, they were integral to everyday life.
After three decades of national and international exposure through exhibitions, commissions and art prizes (2024 marks 30 years since Brian first graduated from art school), he has developed a sophistication, confidence and maturity in his art practice that translates this intercultural storying into an aesthetic of generative interconnectivity.
Image: Brian Robinson, Cursed be the ground for our sake. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us, for out of the ground we were taken from the dust that we are, and to the dust we shall return, 2023, Vinylcut print on paper, 100 x 200cm, 2AP + Edition of 10. Image: Michael Marzik.