ARTS ZINE JULY 2025 by Robyn Werkhoven

STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE

KARA WOOD

Page 18

Left: Sit, rest a while, for there is much to do..

Installation Restored mid-century rocking chair, hand tufted upholstery, mixed media. Kara Wood 2024.

GEORGE GITTOES

Detail: The Journey, W155 x H 110cm. Oil on canvas. George Gittoes.

PENELOPE RULES THE WORLD HELLEN ROSE

TIM MULLANEY

MDT 3.1 - Charcoal on paper 68 x 98 cm. Tim Mullaney.

MIRANDA HAMPSON

Ripple Effect, Acrylic on cotton canvas, 55 x 39cm. diptych frame. Miranda Hampson 2025.

YANG ZHANG

Page 106

Left: Seated in Awakening, Oil Paint, W60 x H80cm. Yang Zhang.

Human Touch: The Divine Harvest

MAGGIE HALL page 122

Torres Strait Islanders Masks and Headdresses from the Cairns Gallery collection

LORRAINE FILDES

page 130

JESSII TAYLOR

Dark Woods Uespen - Digital art, concept art of a character in Jessii Taylor’s audio drama.

TALES OF EGYPT SEIGAR

THREE PRINT JOURNEYS

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Left: Graffiti Garden – detail view. Marie-Therese Wisniowski.

12 Park Street East Gresford NSW. Gallery Hours: Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm.

slp

studio la primitive CONTRIBUTORS

Kara Wood

George Gittoes

Hellen Rose

Miranda Hampson

Tim Mullaney

Yang Zhang

Jessii Taylor

Maggie Hall

Lorraine Fildes

SEIGAR

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Ken Rubeli

Reese North

Eric Werkhoven

Robyn Werkhoven

Gresford Community Gallery

Arts National Newcastle

Timeless Textiles

Barbara Nanshe

Back to Back Galleries

Straitjacket Gallery

Dungog by Design

Helene Leane

Sarah Crawford

Studio La Primitive

Feather Dive - acrylic on canvas, Jessii Taylor.

BULL RIDING WOMAN II, 30x23cm. Acrylic on canvas, 2025 Robyn Werkhoven.

EDITORIAL

Greetings to ARTS ZINE contributors and readers to our July issue 2025.

This month we are presenting a fabulous line up of artists and writers.

Kara Wood is a ceramic artist, based in Newcastle, Australia.

Wood’s work has been shown nationally and internationally, and is a Finalist in the Wynne 2025 at the New South Wales Art Gallery, Sydney.

Renowned artist and award-winning film maker George Gittoes features an article – The Journey, where he writes about his latest paintings –“I am hoping that my ‘Journey’ paintings can point a new generation, who are protesting against war, back to a path that leads to inner peace. Inner peace and the peace that will come when wars end are inseparable”.

The captivating Hellen Rose, singer, performer and filmmaker presents an article – Penelope Rules the World. Rose animatedly writes about her latest projects with music and film.

Artist Tim Mullaney presently resides at Coal Point in NSW. “Through my own life’s experiences and the images from dreams I feel a door of awareness has been opened which I now express through my conceptual art”.

Miranda Hampson is an Anaiwan Aboriginal Artist. Hampson’s art is based on the human experience, with aesthetics that connect to her childhood, nature and culture.

Artist Yang Zhang, presently lives and works in Newcastle NSW. “My creative path is deeply rooted in the spiritual and aesthetic traditions of ancient Eastern art, particularly Buddhist imagery”.

Jessii Taylor is a Newcastle NSW, based multi-disciplinary artist and writer who works with audio drama, animation, composition, and performance.

Accomplished printmaker Marie-Therese Wisniowski -THREE PRINT JOURNEYS.

Lorraine Fildes, travel writer and art photographer presents Torres Strait Islanders’ Masks and Headdresses from the Cairns Gallery collection.

Ken Rubeli is a passionate environmental educator, photographer, forester and freelance writer. This issue includes an enchanting poem –

The Reading of the Palm.

Artist and poet Maggie Hall based in Newcastle NSW, presents another unique and thought provoking writing and images.

International, award-winning Spanish artist and photographer SEIGAR includes a series of photos – Tales of Egypt.

Don’t miss out reading new works by resident poets Reese North, and Eric Werkhoven

ART NEWS and information on forthcoming art exhibitions. Submissions welcomed, we would love to have your words and art works in future editions in 2025.

Deadline for articles 15th August for SEPTEMBER issue 63, 2025.

Email: werkhovenr@bigpond.com

Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven.

T U D I O

L A P R I M I T I V E

Interior Scene with Dancer

Acrylic on canvas, H30 x W28 cm. Robyn Werkhoven 2025.

KARA WOOD

Kara Wood is a ceramic and installation artist, based in Newcastle, Australia. Trained at Newcastle Art School in both ceramics and fine art, Kara has been a practising artist for over 25 years.

“Working across both intimate and large-scale formats, Wood’s work is conceptually rich and visually striking, often exploring themes of history, power, and societal structures. Her installations immerse audiences in layered storytelling, blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary critical discourse.”

Wood’s work has been shown nationally and internationally, in solo, group and curated invitational exhibitions. Her recent exhibitions include - Finalist in the Wynne 2025 at the New South Wales Art Gallery, Sydney and group exhibitions at Micheal Reid Northern Beaches, Performance Arts Culture – Cessnock, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre and Bundaberg Regional Gallery and various galleries in Newcastle. Her work is held in private and public collections, including Newcastle Art Gallery.

Page18: Subjugation Inequality Revolution - According to the Book of Kara Installation , Mixed media Kara Wood 2023. Photographs Stuart Marlin.

Right: Installation (detail) Mixed media. Kara Wood 2023.

Subjugation Inequality Revolution - According to the Book of Kara Installation , Mixed media Kara Wood 2023. Photograph Stuart Marlin.

KARA WOOD - INTERVIEW

When did your artistic passion begin?

I have always had a passion for making, whether it was sewing, making mud pies, drawing, or painting, it was always there. When I was a child, my mum saw my potential and sent me to a private art school. I had an amazing teacher, and it was really there that my artistic passion began.

Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I have always been an artist, but from a young age I believed I would become a famous artist when I was old. Who knows why, perhaps because all the famous artists I knew about were old, or maybe I just had a premonition.

Describe your work.

My work sits at the intersection of ceramics, textiles, and installation. I use familiar domestic forms and everyday materials to challenge historical and social narratives, especially those around women’s lives.

What is the philosophy behind your work?

At its heart, my practice questions the stories we inherit, particularly those that have shaped women’s roles and histories. I aim to disrupt, subvert, and reimagine these narratives, using materiality as both a record and a provocation. Do you have a set method/routine of working?

My process is a blend of careful planning and improvisation. I usually start with research, sometimes drawing, then move to making, letting the material lead me intuitively. For ceramics, I always work backwards. I need to know when I need a work finished, so I can calculate firing times and set a timeline. I also have to account for how the medium will respond to the weather. Everything dries too quickly in summer and nothing dries in winter, so it is a constant balance between planning and intuition.

Take it to the Streets , Ceramic Installation. Kara Wood 2021.

Why do you choose this material/medium to work with?

I am drawn to ceramics for its history and permanence, as it holds stories for thousands of years.

Textiles bring warmth and familiarity. Both allow me to connect with traditions while challenging expectations. Installation excites me because it allows you to be immersed in the art and what you are trying to say. Perhaps art, for me, is all-encompassing and installation brings that feeling to life.

How important is drawing as an element to your artwork?

Drawing is fundamental, but not necessarily in the traditional sense. I draw out concepts and ideas, often in line form, as a way of working things out. Research is as critical to me as drawing. I document thoughts, facts, and develop concepts from this. If I am drawing or painting directly onto a ceramic piece, I might sketch it first, but more often I reference an image or work intuitively on the piece.

What inspires your work/creations?

Women’s stories, overlooked histories, and the small details of everyday life inspire me. I am fascinated by how the ordinary can be powerful, and by the gaps in what gets recorded. What have been the major influences on your work?

Feminist theory, social history, and the work of women such as Simone de Beauvoir, Gerda Lerner, and artists like Betty Woodman, Viola Frey, and Louise Bourgeois have all shaped my practice. Living and working in Newcastle, surrounded by both the ocean and a vibrant creative community, is a constant joy.

What are some of your favourite artworks and artists?

I love the work of Betty Woodman, Klaas Rommelaere, Viola Frey, and Nick Cave. I admire their ability to combine concept, craft, and narrative.

What are the challenges in becoming an exhibiting artist?

There are many, including applying for opportunities, balancing creative time with admin, and maintaining belief in your work. The hardest part is believing in yourself, showing up to make the work, being brave enough to push boundaries, and not listening to the negative chatter in your head. Taking risks and being okay with failure are part of the process.

Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions.

Being a finalist in the 2025 Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW was a huge milestone. I am also proud of my solo exhibitions, especially ‘Still Lies’ and ‘ENOUGH,’ which challenged audiences to look differently at women’s stories. Last year was mammoth for me. At the time, I felt like I might not make it to the end. I had a solo show, exhibitions at Maitland Regional, Bundaberg Regional, Cessnock Art Centre, Singleton Cultural Centre, Muswellbrook Regional, as well as group shows and organising an exhibition and panel discussion for 113 female artists as part of an International Women’s Day program. But I made it, and I am proud that I did.

What are you working on at present?

Right now, I am exploring the idea of recorded history, what gets saved, what is lost, and who decides. I am experimenting with large-scale ceramics and installations.

What do you hope viewers of your artworks will feel and take with them?

I hope viewers feel both seen and unsettled, recognising something familiar, but also questioning it. I want my work to spark conversations and invite people to reconsider the stories we accept as true.

Your future aspirations with your art and Forthcoming exhibitions?

I want to keep pushing my practice into new territories, including bigger installations, more collaboration, and perhaps even international projects. I would like to leave a mark, both materially and conceptually, that endures.

I have some exciting group and solo projects in the pipeline. Details are under wraps for now, but I will be sharing updates soon.

Photograph of Kara Wood by Stuart Marlin.

G A L L E R Y

K A R A W O O D

Page 26: I Life Well Lived

50cm x 30cm x 30cm

Right: With Joyful Abandon, She Let Herself Fly

60 x 50 x 30cm.

Thrown and alerted high fired terracotta, slip, underglaze, cobalt, lustre.

Kara Wood 2022.

'Am I worth more?’

Hand-Built earthenware paper-clay, underglaze, oxide, lustre, glaze

50 x 36 x12cm.

Kara Wood 2023.

Photography by John Cliff

Subjugation Inequality Revolution - According to the Book of Kara Installation view 5, Mixed media. Kara Wood 2023.

Uncomfortable Realities

Installation, mixed media. Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Kara Wood 2024.

Right: Together we are strong!

Ceramic vessel

Kara Wood 2022.

K A R A W O O D

Page 32: and above photographs from - ENOUGH Installation, Mixed media and ceramic, Straitjacket Gallery, Newcastle NSW. Kara Wood

She was all of them at once

Ceramic vessel thrown and altered white raku. H60cm.Kara Wood 2023.

Right: I AM

Hand painted, hand made terracotta tile installation.

Kara Wood 2025,

Take it to the Streets , Ceramic Installation. Kara Wood 2021. Newcastle Gallery Collection. Photograph Stuart Marlin.

https://www.karawood.com.au/

https://www.instagram.com

https://www.instagram.com/ karawoodart/?hl=en

Topographic View

What will the topic be?

And set to retrieve some notions, to hammer away at the construction of each line, as well as keep it insight, as if there is a master plan, allot tasks through the entire process.

For a while I am an overseer, ruffling a few feathers, as if the fit is too tight, that a splash of colour is necessary.

Waiting for the winds to change direction.

The gait of our walking zigzags from side to side, with eyes peeled on some distant prizes, all on display on the mantle piece and some plinths.

We are going to live here for the time being, this will be our work space, in the reconstruction demolition site.

The body mind experience rewound.

Where there are rooms and corridors a plenty.

Houses built and abandoned, or are they nest eggs for an eternal spring to arrive in our heart? Being plausible.

The table, a page is a topographic view, across far and wide vistas, the zigzag loom zooms in to retrieve some ballasts from a pile of rubble ( ancient dust), to come up with a manifesto, ancient algorithms bursting into the songs of life, unlearned and remembered.

ABANDONMENT

Please keep the dialogue going.

You can’t just dash off for the next exit and we will never see you again.

Or are we hoping to leave fragments behind passing on the legacy of blind faith.

So that it will stand like an obelisk in our urban landscape.

Drawn to a closer proximity, to the temple precinct, the inner workings of how the system works.

The amenities of food distribution, council chambers, medical consultation.

You taught us well, to nurture the curriculum of thoughtfulness.

Language the driving force, that guides and whips us, to love and fight amongst ourselves.

Inching forwards to that greater abandonment, from hence we sprung, retrieving the steps learnt over and over.

To master the technical problems, narrowly missing the sword, that symbolises the amassment of wealth, and stalwart endurance.

Kept rigidly afloat on the seas of change, time will abruptly swallow us whole.

T H E J O U R N E Y G E O R G E G I T T O E S

The Journey, W155 x H 110cm. Oil on canvas. George Gittoes.

THE JOURNEY

George Gittoes

I began working on my 'The Journey' painting about 12 years ago when I returned to the Yellow House Afghanistan after being in London with Julian Assange while the Archibald Documentary was being made. It came back rolled up with the second triptych portrait of Julian, 'Locking Horns' and my ‘Orange Lobster’ painting of Donald Trump.

I have kept coming back to it over the years and have spent the last two months finishing it in the Werri Studio. It has been an incredibly complex task masking off areas while I apply the ancient wooden stamps. I have to reach under the canvas with one hand and rub my fingers, hard, against the area where the stamp is held down with my other hand. The back of the canvas is covered in multi coloured fingerprints from this process.

It is a kind of non-symmetrical Mandala. I can see it hanging happily on the wall of Tibetan Monastery in Lhasa, like Ne Chung. Most of all it relates to the Sufi poetry of Rumi, and many wandering Sufi songs of longing, about moths circling a flame. In my painting some of the moths enter the flame either retaining their own identity or dissolving into it. The large green/blue shape represents a soul on its way either to unite with 'IT" or to absorb the incomprehensibility of ultimate spiritual truth.

When I was doing the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he told me that he loved the beauty of existence so much he wanted to be reborn while ever there was sentience in the Universe. Then he qualified that by holding his instructive finder in the air and said, "But only if I could retain my self-awareness."

Dancing On the Other Side, Oil on canvas, H1.86 x W 3 mts. George Gittoes.

The mystical dimensions have always been as real as the physical world around me. From my earliest childhood paintings, I have tried to share what I see on 'the other side'.

Kandinsky is credited with inventing abstract painting but that is not what he was trying to do. If you read his book 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art' it is clear, he spent his life trying to show others glimpses of the spiritual universe he believed to be on the other side of this.

When people see my paintings like 'The Journey' and 'Dancing on the Other Side', (Presently on exhibit at Hazelhurst Sanctuary Show) they think I might have given up painting at the frontline of human conflict. That I have stopped showing the harsh realities of war, but I have always painted both. The dark and the light balanced together Like Yin and Yang. My mystical paintings are NOT cathartic therapy for what I have witnessed in the killing fields of Rwanda or Ukraine, they are my lifelong attempt, like Kandinsky, to find a visual language that enables viewers to enter a doorway into the spiritual realm. Also, they are NOT abstract but as accurate a representation as I can make of mystical experience. I began studying Islamic art when in High School and grew to love the divine geometry used in tile decoration in all the great mosques. I have made a pilgrimage to most of these mosques from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul I have knelt inside them, enclosed, it is like the patterns intrinsic to my soul have been transferred to the walls around me and I feel at peace.

Back at the Original Yellow House 1970/1 I painted the walls, ceiling and floor in a way that enabled audiences to sit in an altered mystical space and hear the stories of my puppets. The symbolism being that our bodies are like a puppet glove and our soul the hand inside bringing them to life. Many of the puppet stories were adapted from the teaching tales of the Dervishes and I would often enter the space in exotic costume and whirl like a dervish.

The Anti-Vietnam war movement in the late 60’s and early 70’s was propelled by a cultural phenomenon where young people were on a journey of self-discovery. I would be in a bookshop and Herman Hesse’s story of Siddhartha would jump out at me and tell me to buy it. Then I found that all my friends had discovered it and were reading it at the same time. The military political establishment who were drafting my generation to fight in Vietnam would have seen this quest for esoteric knowledge as dangerous. The CIA invented LSD and released it into the youth population. I didn’t try it but my friends had read Aldus Huxley’s book ‘Doors of Perception, Heaven and Hell’ and felt they had to experiment. Suddenly all their hard-won spiritual knowledge was put down as product of psychedelic tripping and invalidated. Art from that period that was labelled as psychedelic has been ignored and trivialised.

I am hoping that my ‘Journey’ paintings can point a new generation, who are protesting against war, back to a path that leads to inner peace. Inner peace and the peace that will come when wars end are inseparable.

Cloud of Unknowing Oil on canvas

H107 x W 76 cm.

Painted in December 1967 by George Gittoes

George Gittoes Puppet Theatre Yellow House, Sydney 1971.

Photograph courtesy of artist.

George Gittoes Puppet Theatre, Yellow House, Sydney 1971. Photograph courtesy of artist.

Detail: The Journey, W155 x H 110cm. Oil on canvas. George Gittoes.

GEORGE GITTOES

George Gittoes is a celebrated Australian artist, an internationally acclaimed film producer, director and writer. Gittoes’ work has consistently expressed his social, political and humanitarian concern and the effects of injustice and conflict"I believe there is a role for contemporary art to challenge, rather than entertain. My work is confronting humanity with the darker side of itself."

As an artist Gittoes has received critical acclaim including the Blake Prize for Religious Art (Twice) and Wynn Prize. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of NSW. His films have won many International Awards and in 2015 he was bestowed the Sydney Peace Prize, in recognition of his life’s work in contributing to the peace-making process.

Right: George Gittoes at Hazelhurst Art Gallery NSW. Photo courtesy of artist.

PENELOPE RULES THE WORLD

HELLEN ROSE

PENELOPE RULES THE WORLD

HELLEN ROSE

I’ve just finished the soundtracks for the last two films we made in Ukraine and Afghanistan. George hates horror films and the other night while he was working in his studio, I used the opportunity to practice chord changes on my guitar to commit them to ‘body memory’ in the lounge room. I usually watch some innocuous tv show, however I decided to watch the new fabulous version of Nosferatu, staring one of my favourite actors Willem Defoe. Made in 2024 on stunning location in the Carpathian Mountains, near to the boarder with Ukraine, it was like journeying into a fairytale from the region that I truly adore. The aesthetics, the ancient anthropomorphic beliefs. George seemed almost angry at me for watching it, which I shrugged off as no one was going to tell me what I should or shouldn’t watch on the idiot box!

As I started to watch the movie I began to psychologically go back to our apartment in the ancient city of snow-covered Kyiv, Halloween and visits to Mount Dytynka and Zamkhova Hora, the ancient ‘witches’ podiums still existing, from prehistoric folk lore.

The familiar becomes distorted the screen reaches into your reality, you sit in your everyday lounge room in the glimmer of the TV light and suddenly you find yourself glancing at shadows around your room, “what’s that noise outside your window, what’s that shadow on your blind” (Night Prowler, ACDC;) the dark shadows seem to creep in through the intense sound track as your nerves take on a different shape, you morph from ‘loungeroom lackadaisical’, towards ‘raised hackles high alert’, the chemicals in your body and brain change and everything that is so mundane, that you are surrounded by routinely, shifts somehow into a different dimension/perception.

The characters on the screen are having to come to terms with the unthinkable, a force of evil that is devouring their children, a monster who tears out the throats of little girls, wives and relishes the drinking of their blood. One man, the husband goes into total denial, he thinks that by refusing to believe that the monster is real that will somehow diminish its power. Rats crawl across the once picturesque cobble stones of the ancient town and madness and fear and disease starts to destroy innocents in the vilest ways.

Page 52: Hellen Rose. Photo by George Gittoes at Broadhurst Cottage, Hazelhurst during Ukraine Guernica Exhibition. 2024.

In the meantime you are sitting comfortably in your lounge room and although your heart is racing and nerves jumping, you are just sitting practicing guitar, being entertained, distracted, wolves growl and tear at the throat of an unsuspecting villager at the behest of the ‘monster’ and a boom sound explodes through the sub-woofer, you jump semi marvelling at the fabulous sound but then you think you hear a bullet sound and scream outside suddenly you look across the large window of your loungeroom to your neighbours and see a light is on and the body of your neighbour is jettisoned across the path outside and mangled on the ground, the whole house then explodes shattering all of your windows and your dog is yelping who has been struck and now horribly wounded, somehow the show keeps going and the monster of Count Orlock picks up a small girl from her bed and sinks his hideous teeth into her neck and sucks all the blood from her small doll like person, the high pitch of violins scream into the air and a deep dread of pending doom has spread into your soul like a dark physical depression has infiltrated your very bone marrow and it’s hard to get up off the floor.

This all describes in an abstract/ hyper real way, the feeling of what it’s like to live under the monster putin pervading over your country with his sinister smirk, sending his minions of wolves and rats, the youth of Russia, cajoled into becoming murderous hoards, whooping it up in the blood of innocents. That is exactly the feeling we had in Kyiv 2022-2025. To do the work we do, we need to protect ourselves from fear, just as Van Helsing and co had to overcome their own dread in order to do what is right, to save their lives and save them from evil and then what is evil

One thing I know for sure is that evil is not a fictitious monster evil is other human beings, ‘others’ of our very species, what a terrible trick mother nature has played upon us to hide evil amongst us.

I spoke with George about this the next morning, how ‘horror films can trigger ‘the dread’ that occurs in massacres and war zones. He spoke of Kibeho the group who were whipped up into a frenzy on a drug called Kat, (some kind of leaf that is chewed), in order to be able to’ massacre women and children with machete’s , how the next day when they had committed these crimes how they hated themselves… George felt evil had arisen, was present, I remember him talking about Shetanis the death entities that arise in places where humans are massacring other humans… they are towers of roiling morphing humans, buckling and swelling in a nightmare apparition above the slaughter…. Fantasy and reality blur in extreme events and when we arrived in Kyiv in March of 2022 everyone was watching Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the ancient spirits of the world were being conjured up. Kyivan’s believe the origins of the ‘notion’ of the Witch evolved in Kyiv, just as Vampires are meant to come from just over the Carpathian Mountains in Romania.

Hellen Rose.

Photo by George Gittoes at Broadhurst Cottage, Hazelhurst during Ukraine Guernica Exhibition. 2024.

Mainly in the last couple of Centuries the realities of war have been hidden from us, men returned with a “Don’t talk about the war” attitude and didn’t speak of it to their children and women, the attitude was supposed to be linked to a man’s honour and coping mechanism of ‘stiff upper lip”, horrific images were never shown in the carefully controlled news media, Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen was an early ‘leak’ of reality poetic imagery and critique, along with Otto Dix and others who began to show the world their experiences in the trenches post WW1 and beyond. Now we see how people must keep living amidst the rubble of their neighbors’ home, their neighbor’s blood on the ground. How they have no choice but to regain normal pleasantries such as to give their kids and ice-cream as they walk past their bombed playground, where their little friends were killed, they go to the corner store that is still standing amidst everything else destroyed, where they saw their neighbors beheaded and their daughter was raped for two weeks before she was unceremoniously executed. Now with mobile phones, just as the guy in Chicago says in our film White Light , discussing the murder of George Floyed by police in 2020 who was filmed by witnesses on their iPhones, when he says, “ the only difference is this (he holds up his mobile phone) this has been going on for decades, but now we can show it!” So too the war in Ukraine is seen by the entire world, the horrendous disfiguring injuries of civilians and soldiers, the rotting corpses of children in the rubble in Gaza are all visible to the world through social media. Not just seen by the educated classes who go to galleries or read poetry but by the entire world.

When playing the soundtrack from ‘Ukraine Guernica Art Not War’ to a friend one night, he went pale and said, bloody hell, that’s dark”. I realised how my art is similar to George’s in that it evolves out of a direct experience, that experience is just so foreign to many here in our safe and relatively free world, something watched in movies or on the news.

With the two new soundtracks for Humanity in Danger (the third incarnation of our Ukraine Films) and the soon to be released Yellow House Afghanistan on SBS, I’m working with 3 incredibly experienced, worldly and talented musicians, Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil) Mick Harvey (Birthday Party, Bad Seeds) Jefferey Wegener (Laughing Clowns, Young Charlatans). My years of being a stage actor and a natural leaning towards theatrical expression means my approach to composition is to create mini stories, not ballads necessarily but intense short experiences for the listener where they are swept into my imagination and frontline experiences that exist in real time parallel to their own life.

Soundtracks are really what every song is, a soundtrack to the composer’s life, like a musical portrait, of poetry, sound and movement, a connection with other humans. Witnessing ZVYNTAR performing in the heart of Kyiv on Halloween was like taking part in an ancient Wiccan Ritual, a bolstering of mettle and soul for the youth to face what they have no alternative, an invader who was killing them and their friends.

The ancient European rituals where people dress up more scarily than their nightmares to frighten the darkness away, to face the darkness, the horror, their fear which is not a fantasy to titillate the senses but very, very real.

Unfortunately I do not get to perform live as often as I would like in the conventional sense but when I perform it is in the tradition of Performance Art because of its site specificity, its constructed situation and intervention, there are always elements of improvisation and chance that are the gold of every performance, the unexpected interaction with observers and space that reveals a ‘truth’ that is the essence of the art event. As we are making Feature Documentaries at the same time, these works are documented and extended into ‘permanent space’ their ephemerality captured like smoke in a jar, a ghost on celluloid...

Hellen Rose, Warsaw 2025. Photo George Gittoes.

The other creative joy I have with creating music is making music video clips to go with them. They are really kind of Documented Performances as well. Costume has always been so important to me, years ago a purist accused my work of being ‘post dramatic theatre’ because of this I was refused entry into a Performance Course I applied for, I always joke that my work is Post Traumatic Theatre.

The Dadaists, Surrealists, Expressionists always used costume as an extension of expression, what women wear or don’t wear is always an unavoidable political comment and I have always thrilled at and been amused by the unexpected ‘shock’ and ‘fear’ and ‘awe’ that has resulted in some of my costume choices in context. I was as far as I knew at the time, the first performance artist to wear outfits made of meat (the first in Australia, 1991 Surgical BBQ) I wore an outfit made from ‘beef skirt’ and sat down on a fully heated BBQ while my co performer cut strips off me, BBQ’s it and fed it to people, there were dogs present and it sent them wild. In another performance I created a kind of ‘war entity’ at the height of the AIDS epidemic in Sydney, who swaggered with a girl over ‘it’s’ shoulder (a co performer Mia Mortal) I wore a strap on dildo and carried a syringe of my blood when the fear of blood reached hysteria levels.

I find myself still being judged and questioned about images of these works. I believe the ‘stage’ is anywhere and the ‘performer’ can do anything, as it’s not real life, its existence being ‘cracked open’ like the egg as Nitsch from the Viennese Aktionismus described. Performance is the oldest form of human expression, yet we fear it, we are in awe of its ability to transport us; to suspend disbelief, these are the magical things that fascinate me about being human.

The recent Video Clips of ‘Double Double’, a collaboration of my New York band SiGil with long time Aussie ex pat, Stu Spasm his partner Dennie Grey, Bloody Rich Hitchins and Nikki Dagostino with our Yellow House Jalalabad team, actually, shot by Waqar, George and Zabi with Arshad Khan and Hitjerad Ullah performing in the garden at the Yellow House. Also ‘Supreme Evil’ where I collaborated with my Yellow House Jalalabad Women’s Team, Ave Libertemaveamour and my Australian group Soul Crime with Jeffery Wegener.

L-R Mick Harvey, Jefferey Wegener, Hellen Rose, Jim Moginie. Photo by George Gittoes. Recording at Oceanic Studios, music for 'Humanity in Danger' and beyond.

Jefferey Wegener & Hellen Rose. Photo by George Gittoes. Recording at Oceanic Studios, music for 'Humanity in Danger' and beyond.

The Puppet Theatre Ave made for little Penelopa. Photo by George Gittoes.

Hellen with Olga who lives across the road from the Central House of Culture Irpen, a witness to terrible atrocities during the Russian invasion and occupation of Irpen. We are at the stack of cars where people were killed.were kill

I’m going to bring two worlds colliding with the song Rasha Janana, an ancient Pashtun song, (Come to Me My Love) with Punk riffs that brings the Taliban rushing into the 21st century, all the Taliban we met were yearning to join the modern world, but in their terms, not US dictates, they had spent their young lives hiding in the mountains, so I figured with having one original member of the seminal Australian punk band The Saints and one who is currently working in the new version of the legendary group, touring the world with Mark Arm from Mud Honey, replacing the one and only I would take advantage of that natural born attitude and marry it with the ancient un abashed passion of Rasha Janana.

I also wrote a set of new songs on my little covid guitar and am loving what these incredible musicians have brought to the songs. Down, Down, Down is featured now in Humanity in Danger, and I wrote it especially about the ‘Gremlin in the Kremlin’ how, these people try and drag all the world down into their ugly blood bath based on their greed and power obsession. One of the most wonderful experiences was recording with Max and Eric Voloshin in their incredible underground bomb shelter recording studio, Eurovox Studios, I wanted to write a song for little Penelopa, Ave’s daughter and for all the little children of Kyiv who are suffering so much. Ave has created a gorgeous puppet theatre to try and explain to her, she is 2 now, why they must hide in the hallway from bombs…Penelopa Athena are her given names, and she is just so clever and cute, an excellent mimicker and so theatrical. The title of the song is Penelopa Rules the World!

- Hellen Rose 2025.

Hellen Rose. Photo by George Gittoes at Broadhurst Cottage, Hazelhurst during Ukraine Guernica Exhibition. 2024.

HELLEN ROSE

Singer and performer. Awarded BVA Hons, M Teach, Grad Cert Arts and NSW Premier's Award 2014. Manager / Co founder The Yellow House Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

Rose is Co Producer and Music Director at Gittoes Films Pty. Ltd. George Gittoes and Hellen Rose make documentary films, often in and about war zones. Their latest film White Light deals with the gun violence that's rampant in the Englewood neighbourhood of South Side Chicago, USA.

Hellen Rose’s short film "Haunted Burqa," has been selected as a semi finalist for Best Short in the Berlin International Art Film Festival 2022 and the Indie Short Fest, Los Angeles International Film Festival 2022. Links to the Ukraine Guernica Soundtrack

iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1758479500?ls=1&app=itunes

Apple Music http://itunes.apple.com/album/id/1758479500

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/1N3eC7LRrOUghjroaowV70

Photo George Gittoes at Broadhurst Cottage, (sunken bath) Hazelhurst during Ukraine Guernica Exhibition. 2024.

TIM MULLANEY

Artist Tim Mullaney was born in England in 1964 and immigrated with his family to Australia in 1966. He presently resides at Coal Point in NSW.

“Through my own life’s experiences and the images from dreams I feel a door of awareness has been opened which I now express through my conceptual art where getting the concept across to the viewer is the most important thing.

I believe art should be authentic, push boundaries, start conversations and communicate the artists own life journey and experiences.

Some of my paintings were inspired from dreams, I do not know why I received the images but I was strongly compelled to paint them and show them.”

Page 62: The Journey Continues - Acrylic on canvas 91 x 152cm. Image from a dream in 2007 Tim Mullaney.

Above: Just Another Face in the Crowd - (self portrait) Acrylic on plywood 114 x 122 cm. Tim Mullaney.

MDT 3.1 - Charcoal on paper

68 x 98 cm. Tim Mullaney.

What attracted you to the world of Art?

TIM MULLANEY - INTERVIEW

I am an empathetic visual person and feel images and the world around us deeply which is why I like to express myself through art. Art is a continuing journey of discovery for me and an opportunity to communicate beyond words.

Do you have a set method / routine of working?

Apart from sketching and painting the odd watercolour outdoors I like to paint in my studio.

When did your artistic passion begin?

As a child, seeing my Grandfathers landscape paintings.

My Mother encouraged me to draw as a child and I enjoyed art electives at School.

Why do you choose this material / medium to work with?

I sketch in pencil or pen and ink and paint in watercolour outdoors and when I am working in my studio I use water colours for some landscapes and for children’s picture books and use acrylic paint on canvas particularly on large canvases as I feel its easier to immerse yourself into the scene.

Have you always wanted to be an artist?

Yes. Describe your work?

I have two styles one is traditional where I like to capture the world that I see and the other is conceptual where I like to communicate the world that I feel.

How important is drawing as an element to your artwork?

I still love the simplicity and flexibility of drawing as an artwork on its own, my watercolours and acrylic paintings will have a faint simple drawing only to define areas.

What is the philosophy behind your work?

Painting for enjoyment and to hopefully make the world a better place along the way.

What inspires your work / creations?

A beautiful landscape and communication of what I feel.

Tim Mullaney in his studio, Photograph courtesy of artist.

What have been the major influences on your work?

Life's experiences.

What are some of your favourite artworks and artists?

I like a wide range of art, Salvador Dali Surreal works, Boris Vallejo fantasy art, Sean Fietje and Joel Pilcher to name a few.

I love the artistic eye of Jeffrey Smart with manufactured architecture and streetscapes and Brett Whiteley’s expression in any way he felt applicable at the time. I visited Brett Whiteley's Surry Hills Studio some years ago, it was a real treat to see his creative space.

What are the challenges in becoming an exhibiting artist?

Navigating the art world.

Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions?

Continued passion for art, and my solo exhibition where I met the gallery visitors and listened to their feedback.

What do you hope viewers of your art works will feel and take with them?

Enjoyment of seeing original artwork and perhaps gain another viewpoint.

What are you working on at present?

A second children’s picture book, a large ripples series triptych 1.8 m x 3.65 m and exploring charcoal on a large canvas to convey a particular image that I can clearly see in my mind.

Your future aspirations with your art?

Actively create artworks.

Forthcoming exhibitions?

Nothing planned at this stage but I will be looking for future opportunities.

G

A L L E R Y T I M M U L L A N E Y

Page 68: Ripples of Life

1.4 - Acrylic on canvas

153 x 102 cm. Tim Mullaney. Above: Ripples of Life

1 - Acrylic on canvas

76 x 122 cm. Tim Mullaney.

Creation and Evolution 1 - Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 152 cm. Tim Mullaney.

Creation and Evolution 2 - Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 152 cm. Tim Mullaney.

My Dreamtime 3 - Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 152 cm. Image from a dream in 2007 Tim Mullaney.

Dawn of a New Era - Acrylic on canvas, 92 x 183 cm. Tim Mullaney.

Awakening - Acrylic on canvas, 61 x 92 cm. Tim Mullaney.

Ripples of Life 1.3, Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 76cm. Tim Mullaney.

Dunedin, New Zealand, Acrylic on canvas, 46 x 92 cm. Tim Mullaney.

Road Near Gresford, Acrylic on canvas, 61 x 76cm. Tim Mullaney.

House in Gloucester - Pen and ink on paper, 24 x 15 cm. Tim Mullaney.

House and old Coach House , Monkerai, Pencil Sketch on paper, 17 x 39 cm. Tim Mullaney.

A Bird’s Point of View - Tim Mullaney 2023

“In 2023 I self published a children’s picture book called A Bird’s Point of View.

Many years ago when my children were young I wrote the picture book story and created some illustrations. With the arrival of our grandchildren I was inspired to complete it and print copies for them and other family.

Through a rhyming story with colourful illustrations you are taken on an adventure, exploring and seeing sights from a bird’s point of view.

It was a real thrill to see it in print and to read it to the children”. - Tim Mullaney.

Below: Pages 1 - 4 from book A Bird’s Point of View.

KEN RUBELI

Ken Rubeli is a passionate environmental educator, photographer, forester and freelance writer. Ken, has an extensive background in forestry and nature education. For over thirty years he has lived and worked at Wangat Lodge, a registered Wildlife Refuge and environmental education centre, just out of Dungog NSW, adjoining the Barrington Tops Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage Area. His primary aim - the design and implementation of environmental education programs.

THE READING OF THE PALM

KEN RUBELI

May 2025. Incessant rain, day and night, not heavy, just on and on and on…. Clothes on the line drip-dripping, weighing heavy for a week. Solar panels delivering meagre energy flow to the batteries while the creek down the hill is a roaring torrent. Roads flooded. Trees down. Schools closed. Chichester Dam a metre and a half over the spillway. But dressed for the rain Ken Rubeli heads out and up the hill into the forest, to the thunder of Jerusalem Creek Falls. Under an umbrella he sets up a tripod and in dim late-afternoon light frames long -exposure photographs. And when the worst of the relentlessness has passed, at home in pensive mind he pieces together a slam-style poem. Each practice delivery yields a refinement of the text, the pacing. And then, before a small audience at a ‘Gig-in-the‘Gog’ session for the ‘creatives’ of Dungog town, he takes a deep breath

THE READING OF THE PALM

Vapour from the ocean

East-wind motion presses cloud to shore. Coolness coalesces rain where isobars hang still, until a soak invokes a surface flow to then bestow a flood from rush of creek to river to this muddied-brown expanse

What chance of sun? There’s noneit’s done its dance. Now for days relentless gloom skies, doom skies, grey-wools-in-the-loom skies: more than a week so bleak.

A home becomes an island.

An invasion seeps, creeps, under doors, across floors. Until despair: she sits marooned on a kitchen chair to stare… and feel the rising…. Helpless. Distress pointless.

Until the din on roof tin eases, tide turns, A thought burns….

In the pattern of her outstretched hand this land she sees a thousand years ago: creases of country where a culture never ceases. She reads the lines and there divines a tale of elders knowing here a threat was growing:

Dark days, cruel, sodden wood for fuel, chill air, whimpering children huddled there in meagre shelter, through hunger dealt a weakening blow, so to unwind spirit, mind. This humankind no station against brutal nature’s fluctuation.

Pulse-weak, bone-cold – the capitulation. High ground no defence, and hence when waters drain but one or two or none with breath remain.

Her hand folds. News holds hope of an easing. Boats and helicopters teasing out the desperate from the needing. Triage. Tragedy. Heeding pleas for calm. A glimpse of sun scant balm for those bereft. What’s left? What’s left?

Scanned now a thousand years on….

The seer seeks within her hand a trace of hope this land ever holds a place for those who share a care for Earth and atmosphere for all the living; forces of nature, take and giving….

MIRANDA HAMPSON

Artist Miranda Hampson is an Anaiwan woman (Uralla, NSW), and was born and raised on Gumbaynggirr Country and currently living on Dharawal Country, south coast of NSW. Hampson’s family has a great affinity with the ocean and it is at the heart of my most cherished childhood memories. Her grandmothers, both artists, in watercolours and oils, introduced Hampson to the art world from a young age.

“I am human, so I have experienced trauma, both happened to and created by me. My work is based on the human experience but with the aesthetics that connect me to my childhood, nature and culture.

Whilst the human experience in my art is based on my perspective and wide range of influences affecting my reality of existing (mental, emotional, cultural, spiritual and physical), I hope to relate to my audience.” - Miranda Hampson.

"Art is about the dynamics of the human experience" - Danny Glover.

Page 84: Night Tide of the Bunyan Miirlarl, Gold ochre and acrylic on cotton. 61 x 61cm. Miranda Hampson 2025.

Right: Natural Instinct, Acrylic on cotton canvas, 50 x 40cm. Miranda Hampson 2025.

Flow Interactions, Acrylic on cotton, Miranda Hampson 2025.

MIRANDA HAMPSON - INTERVIEW

*First Nations people should be aware that this interview contains names of deceased persons”.

What attracted you to the world of art?

Art is a way of allowing emotions to complete their natural cycle, whether you are making or viewing. By creating art, emotions can be externalised, opening the door to processing our experiences. Elements in nature also contribute to processing emotion by rewiring the brain and rebalancing hormones. For example, the ocean does not stay the same and is constantly changing. This multi-sensory nature of responding to the movement of waves and being immersed in the ocean activates our entire sensory system at a cellular level. We can relate to the human experience and how we react with the natural elements.

When did your artistic passion begin?

My grandmothers, both artists, opened me up to the art world from a young age. I started painting more intensely during high school for my HSC portfolio. Growing up and identifying as an Anaiwan woman and observing our Elders such as Uncle Les Townsend*, shaped the person I wished to become. He was a leader in the community and played an essential role in preserving, promoting and passing down knowledge, beliefs and practices for the betterment of generations to come. From a young age I was exposed to First Nations traditional ecological knowledge and the connections with art. My upbringing, education and accompanying career choices have shaped my creative output as it stems from the inspiration from my Elders and community. This is my way of giving back and contributing.

Describe your work?

My work explores a visual language that is both personal and cultural. Each piece is a result of a ritual, where mindful mark making builds upon itself, creating a richly layered surfaces that pulse with depth and intensity. I like to portray an uplifting spirit-scape as a representation of the human spirit’s resilience but also to find the beauty in anguish.

Love is the Cure, Acrylic and gold ochre on cotton canvas, 121 x 91cm. Miranda Hampson 2025.

What is the philosophy behind your work?

My practice is classed as ‘contemporary Aboriginal art’ and is appropriate through my own lineage and through the teachings of my Anaiwan grandmother. I honour First Nations connections to Country, drawing on my heritage and background in cultural heritage management. My practice is grounded in the shared experience of kin, Country and place whilst suggesting it as a means to heal and strengthen the bonds between people, land and culture. Why do you choose this material/medium to work with?

I mostly use acrylics and ochres in my works. For First Nations peoples, ochre is a precious resource - used for stories, art, ceremony and medicinally. Each colour has a specific meaning and purpose. Red ochre is a very sacred colour where I am from. It is specific to ceremony. That’s why it is so important that I am mindful when harvesting ochre and ask permission when using it in my works.

What are some of the challenges in becoming an exhibiting artist?

Self-expression and the act of putting something out in the world intentionally can put you in a vulnerable position as it can be uplifting and draining at the same time. Previous experience has taught me that it is important to find a reputable gallery/exhibition space that will support your goals and career advancement as well as navigating the art market. As part of the National Emerging art Prize, I began receiving mentoring sessions with curator and writer, Amber Creswell Bell, which has been invaluable in setting the direction for my practice. Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions?

Most recently my work has received the major prize in the Best of City and Country Art 2024 and I was a finalist in the National Emerging Art Prize, National Contemporary Art Prize, Meroogal Women’s Art Prize, Fishers Ghost Art Award, Northern Beaches Art Prize, LEDA Art Prize, SHAC Works on Paper and the Goulburn Art Award. I am currently represented by Leighton Contemporary in Noosaville, QLD. This year I was also part of a group exhibition called ‘Lookaftering’ at Michael Reid (Southern Highlands).

Miranda Hampson in her studio. Photograph courtesy of artist.

What are you working on at present?

I am preparing for a solo exhibition called ’natural Variations’ at the Southern Highlands Artisans Collective (SHAC) which will be showing from the 19th of June until the 13th of July 2025.

I am currently working on a collection for Michael Reid (Southern Highlands) alongside works by Peta West which will be exhibiting in November 2025.

Forthcoming exhibitions?

‘Natural Variations’ 19 June - 13 July 2025, Southern Highlands Artisans Collective.

Miranda Hampson and Peta West, November 2025, Michael Reid (Southern Highlands).

Miranda Hampson Solo Exhibition, 2026, Michael Reid (Southern Highlands).

Miranda Hampson Solo Exhibition, 5 November - 22 November 2026, Artifact Projects, New York, USA.

Miranda Hampson in her studio. Photograph courtesy of artist.

G A L L E R Y M I R A N D A H A M P S O N

Page 92: Rain Forest Reflections

Acrylic on cotton. 61 x 61cm.

Miranda Hampson 2025.

Right: Labyrinth

Acrylic and gold ochre on cotton 76x76 cm.

Miranda Hampson 2025.

Blue Space

Acrylic on cotton. 61 x 61cm.

Miranda Hampson 2025.

Holistic Reciprocity, Acrylic on cotton canvas, 50 x 40cm. Miranda Hampson 2025. String Theory, Kangaroo grass, fibres and strings. Acrylic on cotton canvas, 50 x 40cm. Miranda Hampson 2025.

Tide Lines of Red Rock

Acrylic on cotton canvas

61 x 61cm.

Miranda Hampson 2025.

Without Our Roots, Acrylic on cotton canvas, 61 x 76 cm. Miranda Hampson 2024.

M I R A N D A H A M P S O N

Not Without a Before

Acrylic on cotton canvas

61 x 61cm’ Miranda Hampson 2025.

A Pristine Reach

Acrylic on cotton. 64 x 64 cm.

Miranda Hampson 2025.

Iwata

Acrylic and gold ochre on canvas.

76 x76cm.

Miranda Hampson 2025.

https://www.mirandahampsonart.com.au/

https://www.instagram.com/miranda_hampson_art/

Being Human — 1983

R E E S E

I arrived in Melbourne with the arse out of my jeans –I knew a place is only as good as the amount of money you have to spend on what’s on offer.

N O R T H

No matter how much I tried my luck soured, & the air grew thick with desperation, like the dregs I drank with at the Builder’s Arms, the Champion, & the Royal Hotel, the three pubs on Gertrude Street, Fitzroy where naked women danced in cages for an all male audience who tossed them coins,

& the occasional crumpled $5 bill to perform degrading, & explicit acts on the cage floor for the amusement of toothless men with grim smiles. The streets of Fitzroy were as heartless as the pub life –adults tossed half eaten pies, & sandwiches into alleyways where homeless 10-year-olds begged for enough to buy a hamburger – seagulls made a feast of the discarded food & pecked each other half to death over a piece of bacon rind, or cold mince. What a pity were humans are born without wings, we rarely see ourselves from above –& if we are never shown kindness & love, how can we possibly find these qualities in ourselves?

My questions evaporated with the heat wave that rose to 43°C & the air became unbearable in this damned city. Gale force winds fanned the flames of the Ash Wednesday bushfires that spread across two states at an alarming rate.

A thick brown dust storm laced with white ash, & cinders, blacked out the sun, & the rising heat wave cracked windows at the far end of the road.

Nearby, a homeless couple were being mercilessly beaten by a gang of skinheads with swastikas sewn into the fabric of their jackets. They ran like cowards when they saw me taking photographs. Little did they know

I’d run out of film.

I stood with the couple & shared a whiskey, & cigarette. Sirens whined while we waited for flames to eat homes, & pubs, & office blocks, then work their way down to us. Nobody was safe, & the class divide boiled down to either decent people, or ugly cowards who prayed on innocence.

Fortunately, I’d found the best of people to share our last moments together.

The Promise

R E E S E N O R T H

Three years since Sofia & I swore our vow of fidelity –but such an oath reminds me of a Gordian Knot.

Tonight, the Spring Ball is in full swing, & the band plays:

‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.’

Instinctively, I tighten my embrace of Sofia. She places her open palm against my heart, until I loosen my grip –she looks up at me, & smiles, her embrace is warm & we waltz rhythmically round & round the dance floor.

Her beauty takes my breath away.

We don’t want the night to end but it does when a brawl erupts.

I take Sofia by the hand to walk along quiet streets under a star filled sky. She wraps her arms around me & pulls me close –we share a lingering kiss.

I comb her hair with my fingers.

A light downpour clears the air & the intoxicating smell of frangipani mixed with port wine magnolia, & roses reminds us spring is in full bloom.

The following morning our home is strewn with clothing –stockings hang from lampshades, my jeans & underwear lie crumpled on the floor –steam pours from the open bathroom door, accompanied by Sophia’s singing: ‘I can see clearly now!’

By Reese North

Reese North is a resident poet featured in Studio La Primitive Arts Zine. North's first book is now published .

Profits donated to protect the health of disadvantaged Aboriginal children.

link to purchase book:

YANG ZHANG

Artist Yang Zhang, lives and works in Newcastle NSW. Art has been the core of her life since childhood, what began as a love for painting eventually led Zhang to pursue a career as an architect and city planner. Alongside her professional work, Zhang ran an art studio in China, where creation and teaching became intertwined aspects of her journey.

“While oil painting is my primary medium, I explore diverse artistic forms, including pottery, woodcut, watercolor, Chinese ink painting, and mixed media. My creative path is deeply rooted in the spiritual and aesthetic traditions of ancient Eastern art, particularly Buddhist imagery. In my recent works, I focus on damaged or timeworn Buddha sculptures and ancient Chinese artifacts, which are vessels of memory, silence, and endurance. Through the layering of paint and texture, I aim to evoke the quiet dignity of history and the spiritual breath that transcends ruin. Each piece is a meditation - a dialogue with the past and a gesture of reverence”. - Yang Zhang

Page 106: Silent Radiance, Watercolor, W25 x H35 cm. Yang Zhang.

Right: Bronze Reverie, Oil Paint, W30 x H60cm. Yang Zhang.

Smile of Eternity, Oil Paint, H30 x W40cm. Yang Zhang.

YANG ZHANG - INTERVIEW

When did your artistic passion begin?

I’ve loved drawing since I was very young - painting was a friend who grew up with me. But as I got older, the pressures of study and work pulled me away from that quiet companionship. The fast-paced, noisy rhythm of life gradually drowned out my inner voice, and I lost touch with myself. About ten years ago, I picked up my brush again and reconnected with the friend of my childhood. I began sharing with her everything I had experienced - my growth, emotions, thoughts, and dreams.

I’ve never had formal art training; I am self-taught. My techniques may be unpolished, but what I value most is the joy and peace art brings me. And I wanted to share that comfort and calm with others, I started my own art studio, focusing on DIY painting experiences and creative events.

Many people who had never painted before came to my studio - some to release work stress, some to heal personal anxiety - and many of them fell in love with painting. I’ve also brought art-making into community activities and birthday celebrations, making creativity more accessible and joyful for all.

Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I used to live in China, where I worked as an architectural designer and urban planner. Creating buildings under strict regulations and budget controls felt like dancing in shackles - constrained but still expressive in its own way. I was an engineer then. Painting freely, without boundaries, was my personal escape after work - my solitude in a noisy world. Now, living in Australia, I’ve found a slower pace of life and a freer artistic atmosphere. I finally have the space and passion to create more. For the first time, I feel that I want to be - not just someone who paints - but an artist.

Echoes from Meditation Oil Paint

W 60x H80cm. Yang Zhang

Describe your work and the materials or mediums you use.

My main body of work is titled Silent Relics, a series inspired by ancient Chinese cultural artifacts - particularly fragmented Buddha statues, though I also explore other relics. I primarily work in oil paint, sometimes using watercolor or mixed media. I use muted tones to reflect the weight of history, and add warm highlights to express the enduring light of spiritual faith. Cracks and decay are not flaws but beauty worn by time. I often merge elements from murals and sculptures of different historical periods to evoke the deep continuity of Chinese civilization. My compositions aim for balance and serenity, encouraging contemplation.

Another series I create is My Perceptions, which expresses my reflections on life and personal experience. In these works, I experiment with materials like paper-cutting, clay, oil, or whatever medium feels right at the moment. In my paper-sculpture works, I use layered cutouts and background lighting to narrate emotions or philosophical thoughts - telling stories through color and shadow. What inspires your work and creations?

My inspiration comes from a deep love of ancient Chinese art. Since Buddhist imagery accounts for over 90% of classical Chinese visual culture, it naturally became my central subject. I’ve long studied ancient Buddhist sculpture and mural art, and painting allows me to express my thoughts and search for beauty in a more intuitive, visceral way - one that I hope others can also connect with.

At the same time, I explore the dialogue between East and West. I come from the East but now live in the West, and this cross-cultural experience is central to my identity. I use Western oil techniques to explore and reinterpret Eastern cultural heritage. If Silent Relics is my dialogue with history, then My Perceptions is my dialogue with myself. I record confusion, longing, sorrow, and joy - using whatever materials I have on hand - to freely express my inner world.

- Yang Zhang 2025.

G A L L E R Y Y A N G Z H A N G

Page 112: Eternal Ease Oil Paint, W60 x H80cm. Yang Zhang.

Right: The Infinite Compassion Oil Paint, W30 x H40cm’ Yang Zhang.

Eyes of the Spirits Oil Paint

W30 x H40cm. Yang Zhang.

Fragments of a Golden Spirit, Oil Paint, W30 x H40cm. Yang Zhang

Enlightenment for All Creatures, Oil Paint, W80 x H120cm. Yang Zhang

Dance of Wishes

Diameter: 40cm.

Y A N G Z H A N G

Oil Paint

Yang Zhang

Power of Blessing, Oil Paint, Resin, W30 x H40cm. Yang Zhang.

Brahma Chant in the Wind, Oil Paint, W30 x H40cm. Yang Zhang.

The Willing Captive, Paper, LED Light. H30 x W40cm. Yang Zhang.

The Invisible Hands, Paper, LED Light, H30 x W40cm. Yang Zhang.

The Awakening of Endless Hands Oil Paint

W90 x H120cm . Yang Zhang

Left: The Silent Transmission, Oil Paint, W30 x H60cm. Yang Zhang.

Human Touch: The Divine Harvest

“We only learn from people with whom we have a connection.” The Connected Species, Mark A. Williams, 2024. The Annunciation

There were four of us laying side-by-side. The bright sun pierced my eyes open to a murder of crows. It was almost 3 years ago when the proposition was made, all bets called off. The situation; I never understood. Set up to pay a song that was never played.

The Visitation

I watched as the aphrodisiac touched your feet. Fibonacci ignored the zero. Set up only to tear it down, two pairs sharing a DNA stem.

Constructed to manipulate, the weaker one was laid on a bed of clover with eyes open. The rising sun and a murder of crows, both gossiping with the breeze. When was the first death? The Stole laid over the Amice. The last level in a video game. Dressed up as chess, War is at Peace with itself, as we attempt to break free from the game, player one begins.

The Nativity

Chalice lifts to a swallow as a Cincture lassoes his breast, the weeping widow caught in a caress. See them as they destroy each other for the sake of a dime. Heads or tails? Metal or skin? Silver and gold. The Presentation

When The Emperor‘s New Clothes are used to tie a noose around your neck. Wonder Woman with her lie detector and an invisible plane will chime in. In this insanity afterlife is an orange cat. And with each breath, I taste the humble pie of another trauma awakening.

A Child in The Temple

I give my life to you and donate my skin to Science. I am sorry for opening the box with my mouth sewn tight. I give my life to save all others, here trapped behind a video screen with no quarter. Pacman eating his ghosts and Frogger. I give my life to you in this murder of crows, I am the feast, so take my body in your mouth and drink from the blood of angels. This sacrifice free of sin. Designed to conquer and divide, once again. NPD hidden in a crossword, seven letters for each square. AI, inwardly vain. Setting up the pieces only to watch them fall. The Garden of Agony

Mistress of rhyme, do not think that the swallow feeds on to your breast. The shuddering dark, see her mind meld with a fly as she guides him towards the closed window. Watch as she opens the pane to set him free.

Listen to the blue globe of her beating chest, sing.

In this final moment of prayer, at the round table. Knights stand reenacting a ballet.

The Pillar of Flesh

How can we sit by one another and take orders from a man with only a bell and whistle? A spear by his side and the west winds blowing. The armory echoes in a Catch 22, connect 4, game of dominoes.

The Crowning of Thorns

I want to be the only one who feeds your words and their meaning. They elected the Pope with a lions name. White smoke caresses your finger as it plays on my chest. The one yet to be opened.

Carrying The Cross

An order of pumpkin chips and blue vein cheese spread dusk onto the burnt dawn. Watching from outside my concrete door, his crown bends to expose hidden jewels. Hope captured by peace does not touch the hem of every desire. In this rage before the falling rein we push hard, the breaking waves.

The Crucifixion

A Warrior takes position, ready to kick a ball between two posts. Skin cracks peeking out with delight to confuse the opposing team. Back to a scrum where the ref is wearing pink sneakers with neutral-coloured socks. Number 11 rolls into 5, with one remainder. And the cracks have turned dirty white, I can’t stop watching, cannot stop thinking, why number eight just broke the scrum? Quads and a six pack steal the next kick. Feel the stadium rock and roll as the siren calls full time, her new bandwidth adjusting for the next show.

The Resurrection

The lead came and sat next to me, chemistry without numbers. Accidentally tripping over five bodies, he entered me. My mind numb while watching the move of a large deadly snake. I am learning Python.

The Ascension

Knowing how to get out of the human skin, it is a process of rejuvenation. The guy I came with saw the transition, it went live. And the movie keeps playing rewind in my head.

Descent of the Holy Spirit

A study surveying 107 community members and 86 mental health professionals, found many were already using AI tools and held differing but largely positive attitudes towards AI in supporting future mental health care. The survey found AI tools were used by around a third of community members, primarily for quick emotional support or in some cases as their own personal ‘therapist’.

“We know that increasing numbers of people are experiencing mental health difficulties each year, and less than half of those who suffer get the treatment they need, so AI has the potential to revolutionize mental healthcare by making it more accessible, personalized and efficient,”

“Community members were more likely to use AI tools for advice when they were emotionally distressed, or as a coach or therapist when they weren’t able to access in-person support.”

Lead author, Clinical Psychologist and Director of Digital Service Transformation and Research at Orygen Digital, Associate Professor Shane Cross.

The

Assumption

I give my life to free every sin. Conquer and divide. Once again. NPD hidden in a crossword, seven letters for each square. AI, inwardly vain. Setting up the pieces to fall. Again. Coronation of The Blessed Virgin

Looping in a land, in a state of confusion, we stood on the balcony holding a glass of fate. Looking up towards the dark sky of a falling moon. Star-child, can we play jump-rope? Repeating numbers in a printed room with no technology, just a quill and ink plot with no shovel.

Assimilation in application uses AI to find reason. And in the news today: Four dead bodies in the shape of a cross found dressed in white linen with a quarter placed over each eye. Blessed.

Torres

Strait

Islanders’ Masks and Headdresses

from the Cairns Gallery collection

Lorraine Fildes

Torres Strait Islanders’ Masks and Headdresses from the Cairns Gallery collection

The following information was provided by the Cairns Art Gallery.

For many thousands of years, the islands stretching between Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea have been home to the Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait Island) peoples. Dance masks and headdresses are unique in the each of the five island clusters of the Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula with varied styles, materiality, complexity, purpose and meaning.

Longstanding interactions with neighbours and forebears from Melanesian, Pacific, Malay and Australian Aboriginal peoples have coalesced into a vibrant cultural heritage that is celebrated in the arts.

Traditional designs, patterns and stories were taught to Zenadth Kes people by their ancestors are reinforced and replicated through ritual, dance, song, rock engravings and paintings and on domestic and ritual objects. Spiritual connections to the land, sea, sky and seasons infuse these ritual and creative expressions and nowadays are still propelled by ancestral guidance. Dance performance and dance paraphernalia continue to be the most powerful visual expressions of Zenadth Kes Indigenous culture. They combine choreography, theatre and visual art in graceful cohesion, and play an important and central role in ceremonial life, reflecting and reaffirming the benign relationship with the supernatural that was formed when creation began. Performing with these objects and singing the songs that accompany them during dance is a way of honouring and embodying land, sea and sky. Dance and song also call up the ancestral spirit realm where the people who have gone before still have a presence.

THE FOLLOWING THREE HEADDRESSES ARE BY JOEL SAM

b. 1977

Language: Kala Kawaw Ya

Clan: Umai/Suy Baydham

Accomplished printmaker and sculptor, Joel Sam was born in 1977 on Thursday Island with Saibai roots of the Sui Baidam clan. He also carves scale-model lugger vessels marking the sea-migration journeys of the Saibai people from Saibai Island to Mutee Heads on Cape York Peninsula in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Before European contact the Torres Strait headdress known as dhoeri, dari and dhibal were worn during sacred rituals, ceremonies and inter-island wars. Today they are reserved for special occasions and ceremonial dances and symbolise identity, unity, strength and cultural continuation.

The following three headdresses are traditional ceremonies inspired Joel Sam’s Kulba Igilinga (Old Culture) series. The headdresses possess sacred codes, meanings and uses that are usually known by the maker wearer only. In the composition of each work, symbolic meaning is expressed via feather colours and the frame structure of the headdress.

Darbaw Dhoeri Mawa by Joel Sam

From the Kulba Igilinga (Old Culture) series – 2020

The Darbaw Dhoeri Mawa (Green Feather Headdress) is a Garden Dhoeri offering protection from evil spells upon the garden.

ARTIFICIAL FEATHER, EMU FEATHER, CASSOWARY FEATHERY, FOAM, ACRYLIC PAINT, GLASS, DOWEL, SEASHELL, TWINE, CANE, DUGONG BONE, MATCHBOX BEAN NUTS SEED PODS, MOTHER-OF-PEARLAND RAFFIA

Aybodh Dhoeri Mawa by Joel Sam

from the Kulba Igilinga (Old Culture) series – 2020

Aybodh Dhoeri Mawa (Brown Feather Headdress) is a Harvest Dhoeri signifying a good generous harvest;

ARTIFICIAL FEATHER, EMU FEATHER, BANANA LEAF, FOAM, ACRYLIC PAINT, GLASS, DOWEL, SEASHELL, TWINE, CANE, MATCHBOX BEAN NUTS SEED PODS, VINYL, MOTHER-OF-PEARLAND RAFFIA

Malu Dhoeri Mawa

by Joel Sam

from the Kulba Igilinga (Old Culture) series – 2020

Malu Dhoeri Mawa (Blue Feather Headdress is a hunting Dhoeri representing a good hunt and weather.

ARTIFICIAL FEATHER, EMU FEATHER, CASSOWARY FEATHER, STARFISH THORN, FOAM, ACRYLIC PAINT, GLASS, COWRIE SHELL, DOWEL, SEASHELL, TWINE, CANE, DUGONG BONE, MATCHBOX BEAN NUTS SEED PODS, MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND RAFFIA

THE NEXT FOUR MASKS ARE BY OBERY SAMBO

b. 1970

Language: Meriam Mir (Erub)

Clan: Meuram

From the time he began making masks and headdresses, Obery Sambos approach was innovative in its combination of traditional and contemporary materials. Born in 1970 of the Meiram Mir (Murray Island) people, Sambo interprets the orally transmitted descriptions of powerful figures in his performance traditions to match the dance regalia he makes.

The term ‘Le Op’ translates as the human face, and Sambo’s Le Op masks represent certain legendary figures in the history of the Meriam Mir people with the characteristics, activities and events of cultural significance for which they are known. As an example, the Waiat Le Op Dar mask represents the artist’s interpretation of the historical figure of Waiat, a sorcerer and teacher of song and dance, and a womaniser, who intends to intimidate an enemy. Sambo’s masks express the fearlessness, conviction and cultural pride of his Meriam Mir forebears.

Maier Le Op Nog

by Obery Sambo

2011

FIBREGLASS, SHELL, BEESWAX, NATIVE GRASSES, COTTON TWINE, CASSOWARY FEATHERS

WAIAT LE OP DARI

by Obery Sambo

2011

FEATHERS, CANE, TWINE, GOLD LIPPED SALTWATER PEARL SHELL, SYNTHETIC POLYMER PAINT, TIMBER, COCONUT FIBRE, DYED BEESWAX, COWRIE SHELL

MERIAM LE OP DARI

by Obery Sambo

2011

FEATHERS, QUEENSLAND BEAN SEED, CANE, GOLD LIPPED SALTWATER PEARL SHELL, FRESHWATER PEARL SHELL, DYED BEESWAX, COLOURED TWINE.

EMERET MER, NEW MER (OLD MER, NEW MER) DARI by

Obery Sambo

2010

COCONUT FIBRE, AERIAL TREE ROOTS,WOOD, PEARL SHELL, SHELLS, FEATHERS, CANE, WIRE, TWINE, BEESWAX.

THIS HEADDRESS IS MADE BY TOBY CEDAR

b. 1975

Language: Meriam Mir (Erub), Kala Lagaw Ya (Mua)

Clan: Peiudu tribe (Erub (Darnley Island)), Samsep-Meriam tribe (Mer(Murray Island)), Sager(southeast), Wug Village (Moa Island)

Toby Cedar is a contemporary headdress maker with blood ties to Erub (Darnley Island) and Mer (Murray Island) through his father, and Moa Island (St Pauls Community) through his mother. He was born in Dampier, Western Australia in 1975, as like many other Torres Strait people, Cedar’s parents had moved thousand of miles west to work on the railway.

Cedar’ sculptural works explore how traditional Torres Strait Islander ceremonies co-exist with introduced western religions. He regularly performs traditional Eastern Island dances and the headdresses he makes feature totemic animals crafted into the structure.

The information below, about the headdress Beizam Le Op, is provided by Toby Cedar.

I made this artwork after hearing many stories from my father about Keriam Wada (frigate bird), which is one of my totems.

I feel inspired to create totemic headdresses. This one is my interpretation of my family totem the Beizam (shark). I used the pheasant feather to represent the pattern of the tiger shark, the black-lip pearl to represent the shark skin, the gold-lip pearl to represent the shark teeth. The white feather below the jawline represents the water and the black feather represents the fish that the shark is hunting.

Toby Cedar, 2015

BEIZAM LE OP

by Toby Cedar

2015 PEARL SHELL, FEATHERS, FIBREGLASS, SYNTHETIC POLYMER PAINT, CANE, TWINE, BAMBOO CANE, BEESWAX, KULUOP.

THIS MASK IS MADE BY ALICK TIPOTI

b. 1975

Language: Kala Lagaw Ya of the Maluyligal (mid western islands), Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait).

Clan: Badhu, Argan and Wakaid

Born in 1975 on Badu (Mulgrave Island) in the Torres Strait, Alick Tipoti’s people are speakers of Kala Lagaw Ya. With extensive exhibition experience in Australia and abroad, Tipoti takes great pride in manifesting his heritage through printmaking, sculpture, dance and song. He is responsible for upholding his lineage of master dancers and choreographers, and as an extension, with the guidance of cultural mentors,Tipoti has composed chants that are associated with not only dance but his own linocuts.

This mask titled Baywaw Mawa (Laag) ll is a sculpture made with fibrelass, feathers and other natural materials conveying the power of ancestral beings that could summon rain, thunder and lightning, and control the sea.

Alick Tipoti is now a leader and artistic advisor mentoring younger artists still practising in the Torres Strait Islands. His works in the Cairns Art Gallery Collection trace his creative results over more than 20 years.

THIS MASK AND THE FOLLOWING TWO HEADDRESSES ARE BY ALLSON EDRICK TABUAI SNR.

1933-2016

Language: Kalaw Kawaw Ya

Clan: Ayth Koedal

WENE-WENEL GAUGAU MAWA (WITCH DOCTOR)DANCEMASK by Allson Edrick Tabuai Snr.

1998

WOOD, LAWYER CANE, CASSOWARY FEATHERS, HORSEHAIR, PAINT, CLOTH, FIBRE FORD AND RESIN

RAINDANCER DHIBAL

by Allson Edrick

FEATHERS, LAWYER CANE, PAINT AND TWINE

Tabuai Snr.

by Allson Edrick Tabuai Snr.

JESSII TAYLOR

Jessii Taylor is a Newcastle NSW based multi-disciplinary artist and writer who works with audio drama, animation, composition, and performance.

Jessii Taylor grew up in Tamworth, NSW and completed school there, then moved to Newcastle to study music at Tighes Hill TAFE.

While at TAFE I completed Cert III and Diploma in Music Performance and Diploma of Screen and Media.

Taylor is also an accomplished musician, having released music on media platforms like SoundCloud and Triple J Unearthed. Her music is often inspired by soundtracks and Celtic influence.

Page 146: Sunfish - Pen line art, watercolour, and digital colouring, Jessii Taylor.

Scratch That!

Album art - Digital art for one of

Jessii Taylor’s albums.

JESSII TAYLOR - INTERVIEW

When did your artistic passion begin?

Art has been a core part of my life for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is sitting down and drawing a picture in preschool after a bee stung my foot. Since then, art has always been an enjoyable activity and I've learnt to watch where you're walking.

Have you always wanted to be an artist?

Describe your work?

Unorganised. Sporadic, or all at once. Not sticking to one medium. Because why become proficient in one when you can be semi-okay at a bunch? (ha ha). But in general, I work with traditional media like watercolour, acrylic and oil paint, also digital art and animation, film, theatre, sewing, writing music, playing music, aerial arts and acrobatics, creative writing such as books and scripts, dance, photography, and trying to lend as many of these together as possible.

What is the philosophy behind your work?

Just general self expression. If I don't create stuff, life feels boring and sad. So I n a way it's sort of feels like self care; and having a creative outlet (or ten) helps me stay motivated and energised. So, so, energised.

Detour, Acrylic on canvas, illustrated scene from one of Jessii Taylor’s novels.

Do you have a set method / routine of working?

Not really, except for commissions where the process is just trying to provide what the person wants, so there's more communication involved. Otherwise, it's just running with whatever looks or feels good.

Why do you choose this material / medium to work with?

There's so many different mediums to work with and I love them all and want to do them all and I'm indecisive.

How important is drawing as an element to your artwork?

Drawing is great to get an idea out quickly, and my normal go-to for mapping out a bigger picture. I'll also use drawing in choreographing aerial routines sometimes if I don't know the name of the pose.

What inspires your work / creations?

I've never been great at reading, but really enjoy writing. At the moment i'm working on two major writing projects: a standalone novel, and a four -part series. Both of these stories are set in the same world, a few decades apart. I've also released a compilation of short stories, poems and bite-sized pieces called "Embellishments of a Head Hog" which is available to buy on Amazon. At this point, two of the novels have their first drafts completed and have moved into the editing process. I've also written a full audio drama script which is now in production with a full soundtrack and musical numbers.

What have been the major influences on your work?

A driving force in pursuing multi-media has kind of been out of necessity, time or other constraints. Seeing if I can hit two birds with one stone whether that be for an assessment or other project so that there's less work involved, or trying to see how one work can benefit being paired with the other. In short, sometimes I'm just lazy, and want to get a bunch of works together instead of dedicating my time to just one. Boom, multi-media.

What are some of your favourite artworks and artists?

Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Cicely Mary Barker. Animations studios such as Cartoon Saloon and Studio Ghibli also make gorgeous movies which are such an inspiration and creative delight. As for writers, I loved the illustrations and stories by Beatrix Potter.

What are the challenges in becoming an exhibiting artist?

Being able to fund it, and finding a venue that will be suitable for a collection of different mediums. Probably also having somewhere to store/ transport the works.

Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions?

Probably when I played accordion in a circus show to music that I'd written, or played original compositions at an art exhibition and selling a few copies of my book and also sold some artworks while playing there - that was pretty funky.

What are you working on at present?

Short answer: many things. Longer answer, an audio drama called "Stage Magic," one standalone novel (working title: Dawn of Halcyon), a novel series called "Ren Tide," a couple of music videos, an album, a collection of artworks for an exhibition, an animation, a short film, a fully choreographed dance / ground act show, two aerial routines, and a photography series. Then, there's other people's projects. Something else I'm working is a regular sleep routine.

Chill Out - Acrylic on canvas, Jessii Taylor.

What do you hope viewers of your art works will feel and take with them?

Some sort of connection, even if it's just a small idea or change in perspective. Ideally, it might really resonate with someone and maybe they will feel less alone, amused, or changed somehow for the better. Your future aspirations with your art?

Complete the ones I've already got in the works. Only then will I rest! (Just kidding - rest is also productive) One idea in the works is to blend a couple of the existing projects into a roaming street show combined with animation, music, light and circus elements.

Jessii Taylor at work. Photograph courtesy of artist.

A L L E R Y

J E S S I I T A Y L O R

Page 154: Universal Language, Album art - Digital art, Jessii Taylor. Above: Hanging Out the Notes - watercolour and digital background, Jessii Taylor.

Dragon Fight - Pen line art with digital colouring, illustrated scene from one of Jessii Taylor’s novels.

Groklomir - Digital art, illustrated scene from one of Jessii Taylor’s novels.

E S S I I

A Y L O R

Galactic Strands

Acrylic on canvas Jessii Taylor.

Underwater Playground - Acrylic on canvas, illustrated scene from one of Jessii Taylor’s novels.

Cliffside

Acrylic and paper mache on canvas Jessii Taylor.

TALES OF EGYPT SEIGAR

Tales of Egypt by Seigar

Artist Statement:

The Tales series is how I present all my travel and street photography. Through these photo narratives, my main goal I s to express the Latin message of Carpe Diem. To me, it’s about waking up - embracing life fully. Enjoying life is essential, but so is taking care of ourselves: eating well, staying active, and resting properly.

I've realized that two key steps can help us feel better, improve our lives, and strengthen our relationship with ourselves and our daily routines. First, we need to listen to ourselves and reflect on what we discover in our inner thoughts and conversations. Second, we must be mindful of our thoughts, words, and actions towards ourselves. What we tell ourselves matters - our inner dialogue should be kind, and even more than that, it should be the best we have to offer. These ideas all work together.

I'm also deeply interested in freedom. The ongoing debate about censorship and cancel culture reminds me of a bird in a cage with its doors wide open - it’s free to fly. So let’s do it! Let’s take action instead of complaining. If we only realized the power we have in our own hands - it’s up to us! We make the decisions. We are free, each of us, as individuals. This metaphor applies not just to censorship but to every aspect of life. How often do we delay our dreams, waiting for permission from someone - or worse, from "the system"? But the doors of the cage are wide open just go for it!

One more thing I’ve learned - not only from traveling but also in everyday life (because you don’t have to go far to witness human nature) is that despite our differences, the most important things in life connect us. I've realized that most people are beautiful souls with so much to share and incredible potential. Yet, this vision of humanity feels quite different from the image portrayed by the media. It makes me wonder: *Why?* I’ll leave you with that thought. Reflect on it, draw your conclusions.

Enjoy Tales of Egypt.

SEIGAR BIOGRAPHY

Seigar is a passionate visual artist based in Tenerife, Spain, specializing in travel, street, social documentary, conceptual, and pop art photography. He has a deep fascination with pop culture, a theme that frequently appears in his work across photography, video art, writing, and collage.

A philologist by profession and a secondary school teacher, Seigar is a self-taught visual artist who has also completed advanced courses in photography, cinema, and television. He has travelled t o 61 countries and has an ever- growing wish list! His artistic mission is to tell stories through his camera, weaving a continuous narrative from his travels and encounters.

Seigar has participated in numerous international exhibitions, festivals, and cultural events, and his work has been featured in publications worldwide. His recent focus also includes documenting identity and promoting the philosophy of Carpe Diem. He was honoured with the Rafael Ramos García International Photography Award. Seigar also shares his artistic and cultural insights on Pop Sonality, his blog.

G A L L E R Y S E I G A R

Links:

Webpage: https://seigar.wordpress.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jseigar/

Galleries: https://www.flickr.com/photos/theblueheartbeat/albums/

Blog: https://www.instagram.com/popsonality/

THREE PRINT JOURNEYS

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

THREE PRINT JOURNEYS

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Journey One Time Waits for No Man

Art is a human endeavour which encompasses the long history of life, and experiences, of human beings over the epochs. It connects us through gender, race, age, time, and shared experiences from the cave paintings of Lascaux to the plethora of modern art media and concepts. By creating a visual dialogue, we have the means to share and exchange emotional, psychological, and cultural narratives from both an artists and viewers perspective.

Artists have historically created works that embrace the concepts of protest, resistance, social change, and resilience of the human spirit in the face of extreme hardship. A powerful source of inspiration is often born from the ravages of conflict zones.

In these uncertain times, the outlook for the global economy is grim with a series of trade policy shocks that threaten to paralyse economic and business decisions. Global tensions are rising, with warfare ongoing in the Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, and Sudan, just to name a few.

The Ukraine has a rich and diverse culturally significant heritage in creating art and exhibiting artworks. Since 2003, the organisers and founders of the International Mini Textile and Fibre Art Exhibition “Scythia” - Ludmila Egorova, Anastasia Schneider and Andrew Schneiderhave curated this biennial contemporary exhibition in the city of Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine. Despite the difficult situation in the country caused by the war, their vision encapsulates the role and contribution that the art world can make to normalize society engagements, in tense war times just as these.

Above detail views of Time Waits for No Man, Marie-Therese Wisniowski 2025

An excerpt from an interview with the organisers in 2023 is as follows: “Art is a part of our national identity and plays an important role in the time of war. Art provides cooperation between friendly countries, shows our cultural diversity, helps to share ideas and understand common goals, it heals and helps to return to the memory of a peaceful life even for 20- 30 minutes, while visiting an art exhibition. Each artwork sent by a foreign artist, shows his or her support and wish to share emotions with the audience in Ukraine, which is very important nowadays for each person in our country. The exhibition also helps Ukrainian artists to spread their ideas worldwide, to show the diversity of their thoughts and to express their feelings. Specially made artworks, and artworks which are closely related to the feelings of Ukrainian citizens during this war, will be presented at these exhibitions. Such artworks are made not only by Ukrainian artists, but by the foreign artists to express their solidarity with our people and to help to inform and depict the situation to the people worldwide”. (1)

In 2024, textile artists working in various textile and fibre techniques were invited to apply for participation in the, 12th International Mini Textile and Fibre Art Exhibition, “Scythia,” via a jury selection process. Artists could submit 2 artworks, 2 or 3-dimensional, up to 30 x 30 x 30 cm. There was no set theme for the exhibition artwork.

I was honoured to be informed that my ArtCloth print, ‘Time Waits for No Man,’ was selected by the jury for exhibition at the Ivano-Frankivs’k Museum, Ukraine, June 3 - 17, 2025. Artworks by 121 artists representing Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mauritius, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, Ukraine, and the USA were selected.

Synopsis and processes for the ArtCloth print ‘Time Waits for No Man’

The quote “time waits for no man” is commonly attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer, and it originates from his book “Canterbury Tales,” which was written between 1387 and 1400. The quote concisely captures the fleeting nature of time and the fundamental fact that change is inevitable. It emphasises the concept that time, along with opportunity, must be seized with passion, nothing must be left to chance, and we should focus on our goals. It reminds us of our mortality and the impermanence of life on this planet.

The concept for this ArtCloth print was rooted in the investigation of the influence of the “fine art” world on the “street art” of Graffiti and the Post Graffiti movement. The iconography of the artwork centres on over 500 years of appropriation of Leonardo da Vinci’s, ‘Vitruvian Man’ image. It traces its journey through time to its current destination in contemporary media and on walls in our urban streetscapes.

“The Vitruvian Man is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1490. Inspired by the writings of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and inscribed in both a circle and square. It was described by the art historian Carmen C. Bambach as “justly ranked among the all-time iconic images of Western civilization”. Although not the only known drawing of a man inspired by the writings of Vitruvius, the work is a unique synthesis of artistic and scientific ideals and often considered an archetypal representation of the High Renaissance. The drawing represents Leonardo’s conception of ideal body proportions, originally derived from Vitruvius but influenced by his own measurements, the drawings of his contemporaries, and the De pictura treatise by Leon Battista Alberti”. (2)

In tandem with the concept of a deconstructed and distressed street art aesthetic, the artwork had to characterize the psychological relationship between the subject and viewer- capturing the fleeting nature of time and the fundamental fact that change is inevitable and that no man can control the passage of time no matter how powerful or influential they may be.

My research demanded various design considerations to produce the aesthetic principles underlying the production of the piece. Multiple complex layers of hand painted, silk screened, mono printed, stamped, collaged, resist, mark-making and distress techniques using transparent, opaque, and metallic pigments were employed to create the heavily textured and dense surface on the cotton substrate. A collaged clock references the passage of time along with images of red leaves falling away to oblivion at the bottom right of the piece. Dark, light, and metallic hues were chosen to give a high contrast and attain an interesting balance of the various elements in the work. Varied shades of yellow, gold and browns dominate the work to highlight the soft gold-brown watercolour washes and brown ink drawing in da Vinci’s original artwork.

In conclusion, both Geoffrey Chaucer and Leonardo da Vinci epitomise the idea that time, along with opportunity, must be seized with passion, nothing must be left to chance, and we should focus on our goals. Centuries after their legacy, they have continued to influence generations of artists and writers.

Postscript

The organisers held another exhibition, the 4th International Micro Textile and Fibre Art Exhibition, at the Ivano-Frankivs’k Centre of Contemporary Art, concurrently with the 12th International Mini Textile and Fibre Art Exhibition “Scythia”, at the Ivano-Frankivs’k Museum. Dates for both exhibitions were June 3 - 17, 2025. Both exhibitions are featured in the catalogues on the Scythia Contemporary Textile and Fibre Art website at the following link: http://www.scythiatextile.com

Journey Two The Power of One

In the history of the world, there have been numerous examples where one person has changed the world’s religious, political, socio-economic, and humanistic direction. From Buddha (563 to 480 BC – ca. 483 BC) to Jesus (ca. 6 BC – 33 AD) to Joan of Arc (1412 AD – 1431 AD) to Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 AD – 1821 AD) to Nelson Mandela (1918 AD - 2013 AD) to Martin Luther King Jr. (1918 AD – 2013 AD) and to Vincent Lingiari (1908 AD – 1983 AD) – just to name a few.

Their determination to create a singularity in the present that separates the past from the future epitomizes the full force of the ‘Power of One.’ Whether their quest was ethical, moral or noble are for historians to judge. However, their impact is unarguable.

The ‘Power of One’ was a novel written by Bryce Courtenay. The story’s seeds were sown in 1939, as Hitler cast his cruel shadow across the world, apartheid took root in South Africa. There, a boy called Peekay was born. His childhood was marked by humiliation and abandonment, yet he vowed to survive and to conceive heroic dreams, which were nothing compared to what life had in store for him. He embarked on an epic journey through a land of tribal superstition and modern prejudice where he learnt the power of words, the power to transform lives which symbolized the notion of the power of one.

In real life there are analogues that personify the ‘Power of One.’ No one in history has done so much to transform a nationhood than Mohandas Karamchand Gandi (2 October 1869 - 30 January 1948). He was an Indian lawyer, an anti-colonial nationalist, and a political ethicist, who employed non-violent resistance to lead a successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (from Sanskrit meaning great-souled, or venerable), first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is now used throughout the world.

The Power of One – full view. Above detail.

Hand painted, drawings, silk screened, interfacing screens, stencilled and colour washed employing pencils, inks, glazes, transparent, opaque, and metallic pigments on calico cotton. H58 x W33 cm. Edition: 1/1.

Marie-Therese Wisniowski 2023.

Left:

In 2024, artists working in mixed media techniques were invited to apply for participation in the 2nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Hope 2025: An International Art Movement Celebrating the Power of Hope, organised by Gallerium Art, Vancouver, BC, Canada. The theme encapsulated the following: “In a world often defined by uncertainty, Hope - 2025 invites you to share your creative voice as part of a global movement rooted in upliftment, inspiration, and healing. Hope is a universal language, unbound by borders, and your work has the power to awaken it in others. You can spark change, create emotional connections, and bring comfort and clarity in times when it’s needed most. By participating in Hope2025, you join a shared narrative that honors resilience, renewal, and the unshakable strength of the human spirit”. I was honoured to be informed that my ArtCloth print, ‘The Power of One,’ was selected by the jury for the online smart exhibition, April 9June 9, 2025. Fifty-nine artworks were selected for the international show which included a full colour catalogue featuring the exhibiting artist’s works. The exhibition and catalogue showcased a variety of pieces, both abstract and literal, highlighting diverse perspectives on hope. The selected artworks can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gallerium.art/hope-2025.

Synopsis and processes for the ArtCloth print ‘The Power of One’

The background and mid-ground fields of my ArtCloth print represent deconstructed imagery and scripts from past eras showing the diverse thinking among the masses, thereby creating a chaos of diverse thought and opinions. Blocks of text have been embedded within the print to represent a subconscious view of brick walls, purposely built to hold back thought and imagination. However, amongst all this chaos, in the mid-right of the work stands a silhouette of a lone person printed in a brown color, sex not identified, standing fearless with arms spread out and the left leg pushed back with the right leg holding firm, thereby representing the ‘Power of One’ person’s determination to create a singularity in the present that separates the past from the future. The surface layer of the print highlights text printed in brown reflecting the voice of the ‘Power of One’ – embracing a new humanistic direction above the chaos behind the silhouette.

Journey Three Graffiti Garden

In 2024 the Australian Textile Arts & Surface Design Association (ATASDA), celebrated their 50th Anniversary with the exhibition, ‘A Touch of Gold’ which explored artist’s concepts of the theme alongside other celebratory events. Intriguing use of fibre and mixed media defined this contemporary display of expressive textile wall hangings, 3D objects and wearable art which all revealed a physical ‘touch of gold’. Working with diverse art practices, techniques, and materials, sixty ATASDA members created a rich tapestry of textile artworks employing fibre, weaving, felting, dyeing, printing, traditional and contemporary embroidery, and stitch techniques. Some historic pieces by renowned Australian textile art practitioners were included in this celebratory exhibition. The artworks were exhibited at Brush Farm House, Eastwood, Sydney, NSW, from 26 June - 14 July 2024, and Whitehorse Artspace Gallery, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, from 30 November - 21 December 2024.

My ArtCloth print, ‘Graffiti Garden’, was a tribute to female graffiti artists - NeSpoon, Lady Pink, Ouizi, Mona Caron, and Swoon - who utilize media such as stencils, spray paints, and wheat paste to create bold and powerful commentary employing flower patterns and lace motifs to symbolize the connection between people and cultures.

Street artist, NeSpoon imbues new life to the time-honoured craft of lacemaking with her large-scale, heavily detailed and intricate lace patterns on urban buildings and surfaces. Her spectacular stencilled lace walls fuse past and present histories and cultural narratives as she executes centuries old designs to our present-day urban spaces. Her artworks infuse social activism, highlighting her efforts to speak about global issues.

Silkscreened, stencilled, mono-printed and hand-painted employing glazes, transparent, opaque, and metallic pigments on cotton, H71 x W35 cm. Edition: 1/1. Marie-Therese Wisniowski 2024.

Left: Graffiti Garden - full view. Above detail.

Lady Pink created her individual technique that combines surrealism, urban landscapes, and feminist symbolism. Her large-scale murals and paintings incorporate vibrant floral themes. Combined with her passion for social activism, she has placed her work within the broader feminist conventions.

Ouizi works primarily on multi-story outdoor murals on buildings and freeway passes, creating artworks which are dominated by ornament and design. Creating clusters of real and imaginary flowers her highly decorative aesthetic is inspired by folk, indigenous, and spiritual art, as well as patterns found in nature, textiles, and wallpaper.

Mona Caron is an internationally respected mural artist and artivist specializing in large-scale, trans-temporal murals for public spaces. She is acclaimed for her worldwide series of multi-story murals honouring the unruly resilience of uncontrolled urban flora, weeds, and enjoys working with like-minded artists and activists.

Swoon specializes in life-size wheat paste prints and highly detailed paper cut outs of figures which tackle social, political, and environmental injustices. Her worlds are often populated by realistic, rendered, cut out street people, some surrounded by floral embellishments. Inspired by historical and folk art, she uses cut paper to play with positive and negative space in a conceptually driven exploration of the experience of the streets.

Synopsis and processes for the ArtCloth print ‘Graffiti Garden’

The premise for this ArtCloth print was established by the street art experience of creating imagery on urban building facades. The initial layers of the piece employed overglazed decorative stencilled imagery and highly ornamental silk-screened designs glazed in copper and gold colour washes. Numerous rectangular panels were overprinted to give a structural element referencing the formal structure of buildings to the background of the piece.

Multiple surface layers were overprinted in panels using delicate floral lace as a stencil, middle eastern flora designs, an Asian poem on flowers in calligraphy format, falling leaves and ginkgo foliage representing the passage of time, and weathered, deconstructed ornamental flowers all referencing the flower patterns and lace motifs that the female graffiti artists brought to their works to symbolize the connection between people and cultures. At the bottom of the artwork flora printed in gold and copper-gold hues encapsulate the concepts of growth, renewal, fragility and resilience. Transparent, opaque, and metallic pigments were employed to create the heavily textured and dense surface on the cotton substrate. The piece is primarily monochromatic with hints of colour articulating quiet moments to reflect on the visual dialogue we encounter daily in our urban environments. The work is an affirmation of the poetic nature and strength of the power of these artists. The creative presence in their works collectively capture moments in time and space and reflect on the positive aspects of the human condition with their raw and feminine aesthetic.

References

(1) http://www.scythiatextile.com/mini-2023.html

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man

Graffiti Garden – detail view. Marie-Therese Wisniowski.

MARIE–THERESE WISNIOWSKI

Marie-Therese Wisniowski works full time as a studio artist, author, curator and workshop/university lecturer, and is the Director of Art Quill Studio at Arcadia Vale, NSW, Australia.

Marie-Therese’s art practice explores contemporary environmental, post-graffiti and socio-political issues. Specializing in printmaking, she has developed signature printing techniques to create complex, multi-layered artworks. Her world view is through the eyes of the forgotten, the marginalized or the misrepresented. She operates her artistic skill set on these thoughts to project conceptual landscapes on fibre surfaces. A passion for the natural world has created bodies of work examining anthropogenic climate change and the human designed environments we inhabit.

She has exhibited widely internationally and nationally, written numerous articles in refereed journals, magazines, books, blogs and held academic/directorship positions. Her works are held in major public and private collections in Australia, Canada, England, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the USA.

Graffiti Garden - detail. Marie-Therese Wisniowski 2024.

Power of One - detail. Marie-Therese Wisniowski 2023.

GRESFORD COMMUNITY GALLERY

12 Park Street East Gresford NSW. Gallery Hours: Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm.

GRESFORD COMMUNITY GALLERY - NEWS

The Gresford Community Gallery presenting new Winter Exhibition artists – paintings by John Barnes, Susana Enriquez, Bernadette Meyers, Chel King, Heather Anderson, Kylie Weedon and Libby Cusick photography by Benjamin Broinowski, Stunning glass work by Cherie Platen and photographer Cecily Grace who captures the beautiful bird life of the area. Sculptures by Michael Garth, Nathan Keogh, Peter Ronne and Eric Werkhoven.

Stunning fibre / textiles by Linda Bizon, Giselle Penn, Janet Steele and Tara Mann. Fabulous jewellery by Barbara Nanshe and Giselle Penn.

Please drop by to view a captivating showcase of Hunter Valley artists.

The exhibition includes a great variety of quality art and craft, featuring painting, drawing, sculptures, ceramics, photography, fibre art and jewellery.

Artist, writer and book publisher Gavin Fry will present a talk on Sunday 27th July, starts at 2.30pm.

Entry $5 – will include afternoon tea. At the gallery -12 Park St East Gresford.

SKETCH CLUB 2025

The gallery holds Sketch Club on the last Friday of each month. Everyone enjoys the creative, friendly atmosphere. Please join us at the next event, all welcome – beginners and professionals.

In June there will be a model if would like to include a figure in your drawings.

Next Sketch Club date – FRIDAY 25th JULY Time: 1 – 4pm

Still Life – inspiration from Australian artist and sculptor Robert Klippel.

Hosted by artist Christine Pike. Please bring your own art supplies. Cost $10.

Venue: Gresford Community Gallery 12 Park St East Gresford. (next to Arboretum/park, entrance at ramp.)

Enquiries : gallerygresfordcommunity@gmail.com Phone : 0428 271 819 Christine Pike .

W I N T E R A R T I S T S

JOHN BARNES

BARBARA NANSHE

BENJAMIN BROINOWSKI

SUSANA ENRIQUEZ

ROBYN WERKHOVEN

ERIC WERKHOVEN

SUZANNAH JONES

DAWN THOMPSON

JANET STEELE

FIONA WRIGHT

CHERIE PLATEN

GAYE SHIELD

TARA MANN

GISELLE PENN

NATHAN KEOGH

CHEL KING

HEATHER ANDERSON

LAURENCE THORSSELL

MICHAEL GARTH

SANDRA LEE BROWN

SUE STEWART

TIM MULLANEY

LIBBY CUSICK

GILLIAN WADDELL

HELENE LEANE

LINDA BIZON

CECILY GRACE

BERNADETTE MEYERS

GEORGIA HORACEK

PETER RONNE

CYNTHIA DENNING

WENDY JOHNSON

JOANNA GREENWOOD

ALICE ROPATA

KYLIE WEEDON

MICHAEL GARTH BENJAMIN BROINOWSKI

TIM MULLANEY

SUSANA ENRIQUEZ

TARA MANN

BARBARA NANSHE

Connecting people with the arts, and each other

Be entertained, fascinated and informed. Become a member or attend individual lectures as a guest.

After each lecture join the lecturer for conversation and light refreshments.

2025 membership now available on-line.

https://artsnationalnewcastle.org.au/

Lectures are at 6:30pm at the Hunter Theatre, Cameron St, Broadmeadow.

More information on ArtsNational Newcastle and the annual lecture schedule at https://artsnationalnewcastle.org.au/

2025 LECTURES

11 August 2025 (morning)

Faberge’s Imperial Easter Eggs (1885 – today)

Presented by Toby Faber

The 50 eggs illustrate the attitudes that would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Romanovs. After the Revolution, the eggs embarked on a journey that included embattled Bolsheviks and acquisitive members of the British royal family among others.

10am to 12:30pm at the Apollo International Hotel, 290 Pacific Highway, Charlestown. Register ($55) at https://adfasnewcastle.org.au/ by 6 August. Includes morning tea.

14 July 2025 (evening)

Carpet Ride to Khiva presented by Chris Aslan

Chris tells his story of working with UNESCO to establish a silk carpet workshop in the desert oasis of Khiva, Uzbekistan - the most homogenous example of Islamic architecture in the world. This took him from the bazaars of Afghanistan to purchase natural dyes to Europe to locate 15th century manuscripts to revive carpet designs from their illuminations.

11 August 2025 (evening)

The Genius of Antonio Stradivari presented by Toby Faber

250 years after Antonio Stradivari’s death, his violins and cellos remain the world’s most highly-prized instruments. Follow some of Stradivari’s instruments from his workshop to the present day: from the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York.

Lectures are at 6:30pm at the Hunter Theatre Cameron St, Broadmeadow. More information on ArtsNational Newcastle and the annual lecture schedule at https://artsnationalnewcastle.org.au/

STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE ARTS ZINE

PREVIOUS ISSUES

Arts Zine is an online independent art and literary magazine, featuring artist’s interviews, exhibitions , art news, poetry and essays.

We have been publishing the Zine since 2013, featuring many high profile national & international artists

– Blak Douglas, Wendy Sharpe, Kathrin Longhurst, Nigel Milsom, Loribelle Spirovski, Kim Leutwyler, Matthew Quick, Braddon Snape, Del Kathryn Barton, Ann Cape and many more. George Gittoes has been a wonderful supporter and contributor to the Zine.

The Zine is free, with no advertising from sponsors. It is just something Eric & I want to do for the Arts, which has been our lifelong passion.

Our extensive mailing list includes art collectors, art lovers and galleries.

Arts Zine in 2017 was selected by the NSW State Library to be preserved as a digital publication of lasting cultural value for long-term access by the Australian community.

- Eric & Robyn Werkhoven social media

T U D I O L A P R I M I T I V E

Devil Dog and Dancers

Acrylic on canvas, H40 x W30 cm.

Robyn Werkhoven 2025.

POETRY & SCULPTURE

Right : China, Autoclaved

lacquer.

Right : Eric Werkhoven in his out door studio at Studio La Primitive.

Photographs by Robyn Werkhoven.

90 Hunter St. Newcastle, NSW. https://timelesstextiles.com.au/ J O H A M I L T O N

S T R A I T J A C K E T S T R A I T J A C K E T

EXHIBITION CALENDAR 2025

21 June – 13 July

Alessia Sakoff

Sieglinde Battley

Stuart Smith

19 July - 10 August

Braddon Snape

Braddon Snape and James Drinkwater (collaboration)

16 August - 7 September

Claire Martin

Michael Bell

BRADDON SNAPE

Rhino Images - Art and the Rhinoceros

Lorraine Fildes and Robert Fildes.

Art and the Rhinoceros - There are over three hundred Rhino images in this book.

Whether in the ancient past or in the present the rhinos are always represented as huge, powerful and solitary animals. The book includes paintings, drawings, woodcuts, etchings, rock carvings and sculptures of the rhino all depicting the power of the animal.

These images of the rhino range from early civilisations such as in China, Roman Empire, Indus civilisation in Pakistan/ India area and from Southern Africa down to current day images of paintings and sculptures produced by modern day artists.

The text indicates where you may find these wonderful images as well as the websites of the artists concerned, the caves where the rhino images have been found and the places where posters use the rhino image.

There are very few of these magnificent wild animals left in the world, so unless they are protected and managed, artistic images will soon be the only viewing option.

Rhino Images – Art and the Rhinoceros, First Edition, 2017, is available for download at The Rhino Resource Centre web site.

Direct Link : http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=ref_detail&id=1518479271

Y A N G Z H A N G Y A N G Z H A N G

Veins of History, Oil Paint, W30 x H40cm. Yang Zhang.