Toyota Community Spirit Gallery presents
me and my
TOYOTA an exhibition of images and stories celebrating Toyota’s 50th Anniversary in Australia
16 June - 25 September 2009 Toyota Australia, 155 Bertie St, Port Melbourne, Victoria Inquiries Ken Wong 0419 570 846 Gallery Hours Mon to Fri 9am - 5pm or by appointment
Toyota Community Spirit Gallery The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery is an initiative of Toyota Community Spirit, Toyota Australia’s corporate citizenship program. Toyota Community Spirit develops partnerships that share Toyota’s skills, networks, expertise and other resources with the community.
The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery aims to provide space for artists, especially emerging artists, to show their work. The space is provided free of charge to exhibiting artists, no commission is charged on sales and Toyota provides an exhibition launch and develops a catalogue for each exhibition. The gallery has now shown works by over 450 artists. This project is mounted in consultation with the Hobsons Bay City Council and the City of Port Phillip.
me and my
TOYOTA Peter Andrianakis Junko Azukawa Lyn Baines Kylie Baudino Sue Bayre Kylie Beard Paul Benetti Charles Betteridge Cara Bowerman Jackie Brennan Jim Chan Georgia Clark Kim Cotton Wendilyn Courtney Verity Croker Mary Currenti Felicity Dalgleish Kath Deighton Jenny Fraser Heather Gallagher Laretta Goodacre Andrew Green Julie-Ann Hall Pauline Handley Kim Handley Kathryn Harrison Mark Hayward
featuring entries BY Debbie Hill Nicolas Hogios Heather Horrocks Carole Howe Susan Jacobsen Niningka Lewis Neale Jolly Cyril James Kerinauia Carol Kite Edie Kurzer John Langford Margareth Ljubinkovic Lux David Marshall Dr John Martino Andrew May Gail McDaniel Norma McGowan MR2 Owners Club of Australia - Victoria Branch Susan Muldowney Robert Murrell Ilona Nelson Monty Osewald Bernadette Pilli Jutta Pryor Samuel Quadflieg
Curator
Ken Wong
THANKS TO
Ilona Rayson, Hobsons Bay City Council Louisa Scott, City of Port Phillip Toyota Community Spirit Gallery Committee Katarina Persic, Toyota Australia Steve Blakebrough John Ryan
David Questa Alex Reznick Janet Riddell Pauline Roberts John Ryan Darren Ryan Vin Ryan Libby Schreiber Kylie Sirett Elizabeth Slezak Carolyn Smith Robert Smith Geoff Todd Anna Tow Chloe Vallance Jannette van Eck Phi Van Nguyen Dorothy Varellas Liz Walker Louise Willis Guy Willoughby Emily Windon Neil Woolmer Valma Wroblewski Veronica Zeil Paul Zivanovic
CATALOGUE EDITING Ken Wong, Watch Arts (www.watcharts.com.au) PREPRESS & GRAPHIC DESIGN Sandra Kiriacos, Watch Arts All images are details of works by: FRONT COVER Main Image Chloe Vallance, From top: Heather Horrocks, Robert Murrell, David Questa, Niningka Lewis, Charles Betteridge THIS PAGE Neale Jolly BACK COVER Alex Reznick. Historical brochures supplied by John Ryan. The opinions and points of view expressed by participants through the artworks and artists statements in this exhibition and catalogue are those of the individual person or persons and are not intended to reflect the position of Toyota Australia.
Ken Wong Curator
This is the 20th exhibition for the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery, a landmark exhibition featuring a record 79 participants that celebrates Toyota’s 50 years in Australia. Appropriately, it also marks the fifth anniversary of the Community Spirit Gallery. It is hard to believe that the gallery has now existed fully one tenth of the time Toyota has been operating here. Me and My Toyota was a natural theme for this exhibition, as it seems everyone who has ever owned a Toyota has a story to tell. I myself am no exception, and just this year had a very interesting time with my 1989 Toyota Tarago, when it was stolen and recovered twice, in the space of 3 months! On the first occasion, it was stolen in Port Melbourne and recovered, unscathed, a week later in Williamstown. The second time it was stolen in Williamstown and recovered, slightly less unscathed, in Collingwood. I tend to believe that everything happens for a reason, but I have yet to figure this one out! Perhaps ‘Van the van’ as we call him, was voicing his displeasure at having been temporarily left behind when my partner Sandra and I recently relocated to the country! One of the themes that has stood out and runs strongly through this exhibition, is this tendency for people to associate human qualities to their cars;
how people’s cars become part of the family. On the basis of this exhibition, it seems this is particularly true of Toyota owners. While it is impossible to be all things to all people, I have come to understand that Toyota is many things to many different people. Since its humble beginnings in Japan, Toyota has always recognised its inherent responsibility to its customers and its people and has strived to build a quality of product that both reflected and embodied this philosophy. More broadly, in our modern world, it is my firm belief that Toyota as a company and as a community recognizes, through increasingly ambitious programs to lead the way in minimizing its environmental impact, and through programs like Community Spirit Gallery, its responsibility to a global community and to the future of that community beyond the business of making and selling cars. Perhaps it is this philosophy, somehow imbued and distilled into every Toyota that rolls off the production line, that makes each new vehicle come alive in the hands of its new owner. For myself, I have to say it has been a great privilege to work with and be part of the Toyota community over the past five years. I look forward to many more. Welcome to Me & My Toyota.
Ken Wong is the Director of Watch Arts, a Victorian based contemporary arts consultancy. He has worked in the fine arts industry for over ten years in both commercial and community arts, curating and managing a host of projects including gallery and outdoor sculpture exhibitions.
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
EXHIBITORS Peter Andrianakis ...................... 8 Junko Azukawa ........................... 9 Lyn Baines .................................. 10 Kylie Baudino ............................. 11 Sue Bayre .................................. 12 Kylie Beard ................................ 13 Paul Benetti ............................... 14 Charles Betteridge ...................... 16-17 Cara Bowerman ......................... 15 Jackie Brennan .......................... 18 Jim Chan .................................... 19 Georgia Clark ............................ 20 Kim Cotton ................................ 22 Wendilyn Courtney .................... 23 Verity Croker ............................. 24 Mary Currenti ............................. 25 Felicity Dalgleish ...................... 26 Kath Deighton ........................... 27 Jenny Fraser ............................... 30 Heather Gallagher ...................... 29 Laretta Goodacre ....................... 28 Andrew Green ........................... 31 Julie-Ann Hall ........................... 32 Kim Handley ............................. 33 Pauline Handley ........................ 34 Kathryn Harrison ....................... 37 Mark Hayward ........................... 36 Debbie Hill ................................ 35 Nicolas Hogios .......................... 38 Heather Horrocks ...................... 39 Carole Howe ............................... 40 Susan Jacobsen .......................... 41
David Marshall ......................... 50 Dr John Martino ........................ 51 Andrew May ............................. 52 Gail McDaniel ......................... 53 Norma McGowan ...................... 54 MR2 Owners Club of Australia Victoria Branch .......................... 55 Susan Muldowney ...................... 56 Robert Murrell ........................... 57 Ilona Nelson ............................... 58 Monte Osewald .......................... 59 Bernadette Pilli .......................... 60 Jutta Pryor ................................. 61 Samuel Quadflieg ....................... 62 David Questa .............................. 63 Alex Reznick .............................. 64 Janet Riddell ............................. 65 Pauline Roberts ........................... 66 Darren Ryan .............................. 67 John Ryan ................................. 68 Vin Ryan .................................... 69 Libby Schreiber .......................... 70 Kylie Sirett ................................. 71 Elizabeth Slezak ......................... 72 Carolyn Smith ............................ 73 Robert Smith .............................. 74 Geoff Todd ................................. 75 Anna Tow ................................... 76 Chloe Vallance ........................... 77 Jannette van Eck ........................ 78 Phi Van Nguyen ......................... 79 Dorothy Varellas ....................... 21
Neale Jolly ................................. 42 Cyril James Kerinauia ................ 43 Carol Kite ................................ 44 Edie Kurzer .............................. 45 John Langford ........................... 46 Niningka Lewis ......................... 47 Margareth Ljubinkovic ............. 48 Lux ........................................... 49
Liz Walker .................................. 80 Louise Willis .............................. 81 Guy Willoughby ......................... 82 Emily Windon .......................... 83 Neil Woolmer .......................... 84 Valma Wroblewski ................... 85 Veronica Zeil ............................ 86 Paul Zivanovic .......................... 87 Images on these pages supplied by John Ryan
me and my
TOYOTA
Peter Andrianakis Victoria
“
In my art practice I have never previously considered the topic of comedy. However, the people who have known me and my Toyota Corolla over the past 25 years will be amused by this sculpture.�
My Toyota Corolla Plaster to be cast in bronze, Edition of 2, 2009 100x40x40cm, POA
Peter was born in Greece in 1947 and migrated to Australia in 1955. He was awarded a scholarship and obtained a Diploma of Youth Work, going on to work with the Brotherhood of St Lawrence. His lifelong fascination with art led him to studies at RMIT. He eventually became a Master Builder to finance his artwork, setting up his studio alongside his building business at 274 Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy. Peter then established The Fitzroy Gallery at this site. This enabled him to pursue his art full time whilst providing a venue for other artists to show their work. The Fitzroy Gallery has also been a venue for plays, choral concerts and other musical events. Presently Peter is working as a full time artist, painting and sculpting, both on commission and in order to exhibit his work.
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me and my TOYOTA
Junko Azukawa Victoria
I made this work to congratulate Toyota on 50 years in Australia. The central character in the piece is ‘harmony’, pronounced in Japanese as wa (和). When written in the cursive calligraphic style, the character appears to say ‘50’. As a Japanese person and a Toyota owner I understand the spirit which the Toyota brand represents, quality of workmanship and self-belief. These are qualities I respect and try to incorporate into my own work. As such, Toyota is a company I respect and learn from. After I emigrated to Australia I immediately realised that I could not continue doing calligraphy in the same way as in Japan. When something enters a new environment it must become as one with that environment, in harmony, much like Toyota coming to Australia. In many ways this parallels my experience as a Japanese artist coming to Australia. To succeed, you have to always believe in yourself and love what you make. Accompanying the central character, I have written a poem which loosely translates as: Junko grew up in the Japanese city of Toyama and started studying Japanese calligraphy when she was five years old at the Hokuriku Calligraphy Academy. She recently earned the Shihan teaching qualification from that school. Since coming to Melbourne in 2005 she has had several successful exhibitions at Kazari Gallery in Prahran and Fad Gallery in Melbourne city. In 2007, her calligraphy was used for the new KIRIN beer label. Her art combines elements of traditional Japanese ink paintings and calligraphy with abstract patterns and watercolours, and often includes original prose and poetry.
Strength and beauty can adapt. We have always believed in ourselves And loved what we have made, A new world inspired by harmony with this place. We will continue to grow together Because there is a future in this direction.
Harmony Sumi ink and water colour on paper, kimono fabric 2009, 139 x 170cm $4000
me and my TOYOTA
9
Lyn Baines Victoria
Coorong S.A. Acrylic on Hardboard 2008/9, 133 x 103cm, $3300
Lyn has been a full time artist since 1994 and prior to that worked in art education, heading the Fine Art & Design Department at Box Hill TAFE. She has held nine solo exhibitions in sculpture, ceramics and drawing and participated in over thirty group and invitational exhibitions. She suffered a stroke in 2005 and has been painting full time since 2006.
10 me and my TOYOTA
This painting is one of the results of my two year solo drawing trip around Australia. I lived in a 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser who was called Lily. My Troopy and I covered 66 thousand kilometres with only 18 thousand K’s on bitumen. I specialised in remote area travel, and I was able to stay in the bush for extended periods because of my long range fuel tanks, two water tanks holding 120 litres and a HF Radio. Site drawings were done on A4 scale 300gsm paper in Oil Paint stick and sent home every month. This painting is the result of the first drawing sequence after I set off from Melbourne, and a reflection of the time I spent at the salt pans along the Coorong in S.A.
“
I lived in a 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser who was called Lily. ”
Kylie Baudino Victoria
At the age of four, the backseat of our family car was my entire world on wheels. Privy to my thoughts and expressions, it absorbed the charming ponderings of a child, to become filled with favourite storybooks read, thoughts related to travel, and a canvas for drawings of imaginary friends. This work considers the cherished memories of a child’s engagement with Toyota, discussing a few select points of My 4 yr old World departure between Sculpture: 1970 – 1974 Second Generation Toyota Corolla backseat, caster window raindrop races, wheels and mixed media 2009, 57x119x80cm, $3200 tears, sleep, laughter and I Spy, to articulate the love and safety experienced within my golden backseat world of our first family car. By sourcing an original Toyota Corolla 2nd Generation backseat, this work endeavours to highlight that the backseat becomes much more than just its physical form. The
“
This work considers the cherished memories of a child’s engagement with Toyota.”
memories inform the backseat, becoming interwoven, so that they now spill out from within, through the lining and vinyl. Once loved and engaged by a child, the backseat becomes a whole world. Kylie is an artist and arts consultant who lives in Melbourne and works from her St Kilda Studio. As a contemporary sculptor she has a strong interest in conceptual art and writing, consulting to artists and galleries in Melbourne. She is a graduate of Griffith University, College of Art, where she completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Visual Arts) in 2005 and was awarded the University Medal for Academic Excellence. Kylie currently works within the Melbourne Art Scene as a Fine Art Business consultant and writes reviews for online art publications.
me and my TOYOTA
11
Sue Bayre Victoria
Since the 1980s, my work has been a journey from painting student to artist in my own right, moving through the basics of learning application techniques to rendering complex paintings and organising exhibitions. I am a contemporary realist and colourist. My current works are in two distinct series, one that comprises still life of teacups, the other studies of automotive subjects. My partner is a car enthusiast so I have been introduced to the world of car shows and swap meets. I speak words such as big-block, tacho and streeter with familiarity. I am particularly attracted to vintage, classic and muscle cars shapes which have very rounded and feminine lines yet are loaded with loud, masculine chrome embellishments. I find painting the automotive form not dissimilar to painting still life – shapes, spaces, reflections, colour and light. I entered the Toyota prize as an automotive artist and as the owner of a very good looking Toyota, an 85 model Supra. More of my works can be viewed at www.nellstreetpainters.com
“ Snapshots, Oil on canvas 2009, 150 x 60cm, $2800
12 me and my TOYOTA
My partner is a car enthusiast so I have been introduced to the world of car shows ...”
Kylie Beard
Victoria
Journeys in a Strange Land Mixed media and found objects on wood 2009,60 x 120 x 30cm, $1250
Oh how the freedom of the open road beckons, Through the belly of this strange land. Barren fields and dusty plains give way, To roaring waves and golden sand. Towering eucalypts scent the balmy air, And a symphony of cicadas enchant. As the sun sinks below the endless road ahead, Soft shadows take on an alluring slant. Anticipating adventures yet to come, As dawn spreads its warmth, over this strange land. My lifelong interest in art found a vehicle when I trained at Massey University in New Zealand in Product Development and I was lucky enough to have access to a design studio where I was able to experiment with different mediums for various projects. I began painting and have also learnt silver-smithing, resin casting and sculpture and enjoy incorporating elements of all practices into my works. I am currently undertaking study in Studio Art practice at La Trobe College of Art and Design with a view to exhibiting my work in a solo exhibition in the near future. My connection with Toyota began when my partner joined the company
in September 2006. I have since observed the outstanding support and encouragement that Toyota provides to the community, having exhibited my art and sculpture at three Toyota Community Gallery exhibitions (including this exhibition), participated in the Toyota Around the Bays team in 2008 and been moral support to my partner at several other Toyota events such as Ekiden. Journeys in a Strange Land depicts my impressions of the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the Australian landscape as observed during my day-to-day journeys in our Toyota vehicle, since moving to Melbourne three years ago.
me and my TOYOTA 13
Paul Benetti Victoria
Megs Toyota still getting us places, Stencil on metal 2009, 83 x 110cm, $1000
My work often revolves around humanism, the cycles of humanity, and the mundane. Whilst to most my girlfriends little 86 Corolla is nothing more then a old car on its last legs, for her and myself it’s a lot more. For us it’s the means that gets us not only to each other but then also takes us to all the places we love driving to. Philip Island and the Dandenong Ranges for example are two of our favourites. I think the sentiments that are tied up in ones first car are quite strong and should be celebrated. I suppose that’s what I was attempting to do with this piece.
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“
I think the sentiments that are tied up in ones first car are quite strong and should be celebrated. ”
Cara Bowerman
Victoria
Deni Ute Muster, Pigment ink on 100% cotton rag 2007, 50 x 70cm, $500
“
The rural town of Deniliquin, affectionately known as ‘Deni’, in New South Wales, has claimed the Guinness Book of Records title for the largest parade of utes in the world since 1999. 2007 was no exception, with Deni welcoming 6235 utes and more than 18000 people to admire this icon of the outback. The Deni Ute Muster is a two-day festival celebrating the good, the bad – and the dusty – of Aussie ute culture.” Cara is a young freelance photographer specialising in documentary photography and photojournalism and co-founder of photographic agency FiveSeven Photos. In 2007, she graduated with Distinction in the BA Photography (Arts) program at RMIT, receiving the University’s Kallman Feital Award for High Achievement in a Professional Sphere. Cara
has been named a semi-finalist in the coveted Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, and her work was recently short-listed for the critically acclaimed HeadOn Alternative Portrait Prize. In 2008, she won the Editorial category of Trampoline’s Projections and in 2007, was a finalist in the Sixth Leica/CCP Documentary Award.
me and my TOYOTA 15
Charles Betteridge NSW
I was born in Lismore, NSW in 1937. In April 1960, I joined Burns Philp (NG) Ltd in Port Moresby as a spare parts salesman. In February 1963 Burns Philp took on the distributorship of Toyota for PNG and I became its very first parts salesman and vehicle salesman on that date. I sold the very first Toyota in PNG in June 1963. It was a Toyota Tiara sedan – the forerunner of the Corolla. Toyota Vehicle sales were very slow in the first year (1963) with only four Toyota’s being sold. In 1964 twenty-four Toyota’s were sold and from then on sales of Toyota vehicles throughout PNG skyrocketed. It still maintains its No.1 position to this day. My association with Toyota in PNG and the Pacific Island Nations spans 37 years. From the very first Toyota I brought in 1966 (the Sports 800) until today, I have owned 12 different Toyota’s, so in effect I have been associated with Toyota for 46 years.
16 me and my TOYOTA
Preparing for 1966 Papuan Safari, PNG
The photo of the Toyota 800 Sports was taken on Saturday morning November 5th, 1966, at the start of the Papuan Safari in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. I first brought this Toyota 800 in early March 1966. It was the very first one imported into Papua New Guinea. Its small twin- cylinder, 800cc air-cooled engine and four-speed manual transmission, made it a formidable car for its small size. The Sports 800 certainly attracted a lot of attention, especially from the single girls. When I entered it for the first time in the 1966 Papuan Safari my girlfriend Penny, was my navigator. We didn’t win in 1966 but in the 1967 Safari we came second outright. I married my “navigator” in November 1967 and the Toyota 800 Sports was our wedding car. We have very fond memories of this incredible car. It was a Toyota masterpiece of its time.
The TOYOTA Sports 800 by Charles Betteridge
The Toyota Sports 800 was an incredible car for its time between 1966 and 1969 when production finally ceased. It was designed by Mr. Tatsuo Hasegawa of Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan. During the latter part of the 2nd World War, Mr. Hasegawa was in charge of design of a high altitude fighter to combat the American bombers. This aircraft would have flown higher and faster than any other American or Allied aircraft and it could have possibly changed the outcome of the war had it got off the ground, but the war came to an end when production was about to start. When the war was over Mr. Hasegawa “lost his job” and worked for a time at one or more American air bases in Japan before joining Toyota in the design department. While this change in career field from airplanes to automobiles was a loss to the aviation industry – it was a decided benefit to the automotive industry as a whole, and in particular to those of us who owned the Toyota Sports 800. He also designed the Toyota MR2 and other sports coupes later on using his aeronautical design knowledge in every model. I came across this special Toyota Sports 800 car quite accidentally when I was in Japan in 1965 doing Judo training and exams for my black belt at the Kodokan in Tokyo. I took a couple of days off training to visit Toyota’s Coaster bus and Corona manufacturing plant in Yokohama. It was while visiting the factory that I saw this unusual shape under a canvas cover and I asked my guide what it was. He told me it was a “top secret” car and no one was allowed to see it. I explained to him that I came from New Guinea and it was so remote that no one else in the world would hear about it. He said he would have to see his boss and while he was away I took the cover off to reveal this beautiful little sports
car and the moment I set eyes on it I knew I had to have one. My guide came back with his boss and after much explanations and pleading from me, the boss agreed that I could take it for a test drive, so with the boss in the passenger seat and me in the drivers seat I took it for what I could describe as the most beautiful driving experience in my life. I was driving the prototype of the finished model before it went into full production. My Sports 800 arrived in Port Moresby in early March, 1966. It was the very first one imported into PNG. Between March 1966 and January 1969, when I finally traded it in for the latest Toyota Corolla KE15S Coupe, it had competed in many motor sports events including three Papuan Safari’s. It was our wedding car on November 4th, 1967, when I married my “navigator”, Penny. We took the Sports 800 on leave with us to Australia in 1968 and it caused a sensation wherever we went with it. This was my very first Toyota ever and it’s one Toyota I will never forget.
me and my TOYOTA 17
Jackie Brennan Queensland
Supra Granny by Jackie Brennan
Burrum Heads, a small fishing village with a population of about 500, plus tourists, is relatively isolated. There are no schools nearby so the locals are mostly retirees – like me. I freely admit to being on the shady side of sixty but, like matured parmesan and vintage tawny port, the passing of time only serves to enhance us. Even my car, Tootsie, is getting on in years – 1987 Toyota Supra. She’s been my constant companion and together we both remain very active. There’s no rust in the old girl, the velour upholstery is still pristine and, best of all, although she’s been driven almost everyday, her odometer has only just tipped the first 100,000k. Everywhere I go people ask me about Tootsie. They can never believe how old she is. But owning such a legend does come with a few hiccoughs.
“
I suppose it doesn’t help that I live in the very last house in the township and there’s only one way in and out – past practically everyone else’s house, the local shops, the pub and progress hall. But darned if I’m going to tame her roar. It would ruin her personality, deflate her ego; Tootsie on Prozac? Never!
There’s no rust in the old girl, the velour upholstery is still pristine and, best of all.. her odometer has only just tipped the first 100,000k. ”
Rural village life can be very challenging, a bit like neighbourhood watch on steroids; everyone knows your business and gossip is considered an Olympic sport – especially amongst the men who anoint all the locals with a nickname – mine was ‘the professor’. But since I’ve had a Lukey muffler fitted to Tootsie, I’ve become known as the ‘village hoon’. But I haven’t been speeding …. Honest! However, it does sound like the old girl’s had a mega testosterone fix. To exacerbate the
18 me and my TOYOTA
illusion, I started out my driving career in an FJ Holden – back when doing the double shuffle was considered really cool. I’ve never lost the habit but hey, I’m not breaking any laws. Besides, Tootsie just loves having her gear box tickled.
It was time the residents got to know the real me. So, being a retired professor, artist and published author, I decided to put my many skills to good use by taking up a great Aussie tradition. I’ve become a volunteer for various community organizations – editing the local newsletter, organizing charity fundraisers, even tossing burgers at the monthly community picnic. I’m happy, healthy and have friends galore. Now that offensive finger has morphed into a boisterous wave of cheerful greeting. “We just knew it was you,” the locals smile in welcome; then add covertly, “We could hear Tootsie coming. Isn’t she a little beauty!”.
Jim Chan Victoria
The work Premonition is the artistic expression of my interest in one of the Toyota existing research project - the development of a conceptual Eco friendly transportation vehicle prototype, the pod-car thingy. The thought of having the chance of riding this invention in our daily lives could be purely a fantasy. However, I, personally, as Toyota's spirit, would like to keep this inspiring and revolutionary idea, between the world of reality and dreams. The text / poem is written in the style of Haiku (a form of Japanese poem).
Last night I dreamt I was flying, again against the autumn sky, she appeared that pod-car thingy, from the future, very different from the present, or the past, yet somehow familiar we passed, then suddenly, inside her, travelling as one, she moved silently, electric, synchronising, my heartbeat, her breath, in tune with the sounds of nature in my dream, we left no mark on the roads we travelled no trace in the air, no footsteps on the land, like we had never been there, not last night, not ever, except perhaps tomorrow Premonition (video still shown), Interactive CD ROM 2009, $10 a copy
Jim has an advanced Diploma of Electronic Design and Interactive Media from Victoria University, Melbourne. In 2004 he graduated a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, going on to complete his Honours in Multimedia Art at Monash University in 2008. He has participated in many awards and prizes nationally and his work has been exhibited at the Australian Centre of Moving Images in Melbourne.
me and my TOYOTA 19
Georgia Clark Victoria
“
My sister Dorothy and I were inspired to enter this exhibition because of the cherished childhood memories we share.�
Our New Celica, Acrylic on canvas 2009, 100 x 120cm, $1550
Mum only ever drove Celicas. This was our second one on our first big drive down to Phillip Island. We loved our Celica and the freedom it gave us. That's me at the front proud as can be. I really enjoyed painting this work. Thank You!
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Dorothy Varellas
Victoria
This was our first Celica, one of three. My sister and I are holding our two dogs, Kang and Fu whilst our smiling Celica looks on and Mum takes the photo.
a Our First Celic
Our Celica in the 70’s was the coolest car. We went everywhere in it, from school to picnics. Our Celica was a she and she was part of the family just like the two dogs and budgie. My Mum, sister and I would drive along and listen to tapes in the cassette deck and I would disappear into the white interior looking at all the trees.
Lot 2 Stony Creek Rd Egg tempera 2009, 80 x 70cm, NFS
me and my TOYOTA 21
Kim Cotton NSW
Coming of Age by Kim Cotton
I called my Toyota Corolla Rossie the Girl Racer. She was 21 years old when I inherited her from my mother, Roslyn. Mum had been the typical car-loving owner. Rossie was garaged daily in a neat little suburban home and driven to the shops and back. It was like a walk in the park for both of them. When I took on Rossie as my own she was white and prim and she purred along the streets of inner Sydney like a wise old cat. Her seat covers were original tanned vinyl. She was traditional and solid.
“
I still think I hear her purring but perhaps that’s my new Toyota Corolla...”
After a few years I reinvented her — a bit like myself. I found some faux leopard-skin seat covers and my boyfriend helped me install them outside his Bondi home. I added Rajasthan-made cushions – the embroidered kind with the little mirrors sewn in. Rossie became exotic. Friends and work colleagues quipped that she looked like the “African president’s car” or a “Marrakesh hash palace” but they loved the ride — when people travelled in Rossie they weren’t getting a lift, they were on a journey. *"They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn..."
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Sometimes people would laugh at Rossie; they thought she was too old. Her hinges were beginning to give way to rust but never her engine. She ran on the ‘sniff of an oily rag’ and when she was about 25 years old she took us on a 3,000-kilometre return road trip all the way to Hervey Bay. Surfboards on the roof, tent in the back, my boyfriend and I looked like a couple of itinerants; snorkels and cushions hanging out of the windows. We had a blast. It was freedom. *"What's your road, man? — holyboy road, madman road, rainbow road, guppy road, any road. It's an anywhere road for anybody anyhow."
Rossie was sold at the age of 27 when I had my first child. Times were moving on. We parted sadly and the new owner promised he would take care of her. I watched her purr off into the distance. I still think I hear her purring but perhaps that’s my new Toyota Corolla, just playing the same old and steady tune. *"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? — it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." *Jack Kerouac, On the Road - 40th Anniversary edition, 1997. Viking Penguin
Wendilyn Courtney Victoria
my Celica
Memories may bloom, then wither; flowers of spring blossoming once were. Hark back, a capsule encased, ecstatic, project blissfully pre-eminent times. I’ll cast off those wasted branches and go back, back in time. Some choices made in that heavenly era; the seventies. One second-hand prestige, yet another, but oh, there she was. Blood red, sleek, feminine. That dipped, long nose; those eyes. Silky, far removed from others. The sportiness of her; my Coupe. Yes mine. I had to have her. Younger then, five on the floor; easy. Moulding into her interior; her moves so smooth. She sped through the suburbs or city; actually my classy lady was so pretty. But, those days in the country and photos I’d take parked by the river; the backdrop of trees and jade, suited her well! Yes the favourite car I ever had, no quandary to choose which, a prose of ease was this to pen; oh, what a feeling; Toyota.
Me & My circa Celica 1976
Wendilyn has a diploma of professional writing/editing and is a writer and artist working in oil and pastel. She is currently working on a fictional manuscript set in the sixties in Melbourne and also writes for technical publications.
me and my TOYOTA 23
Verity Croker Tasmania !
ge a gara y has ane b a B isb lue My B ndgate, Br Sa
My Blue Baby
My Toyota Corolla was my loyal friend for 26 years. She was ‘My Blue Baby’ and we went everywhere together. The first time I saw her, I fell in love. I had just moved to Darwin, and needed a car in a hurry. I headed straight to Bridge Autos Toyota, and there she was, waiting for me. I loved her sky blue colour, compact size and perky square boot.
by Verity Croker
having a crash in a supermarket car park in my absence. I left her again to work in China, but she was getting older by then and just waited patiently for me. Time came and we were moving to Hobart. It would cost $1000 to ship her there, and that combined with the cost of repairs she desperately needed, meant she had become economically unsustainable for me. She was running on three cylinders and the head gasket had failed, requiring daily filling up of the radiator.
She took me to Kakadu, Litchfield Park, Borroloola and Uluru, never letting me down. She had a hard life in the Territory as she didn’t have a carport, I made the heart-breaking let alone a garage, so decision to sell her. was always parked out in A mechanic friend had a the elements. This led to daughter in need of a car. faded paintwork and rust. When she came to see Me at Alice Springs campsite She was also vulnerable ‘My Blue Baby’ for the to thieves. One morning I first time, I recognised the found her up on blocks, all look on her face - she was the wheels gone. Regular in love with my Toyota. Just like I had been attempts at theft left her with three different when I first saw her. She gazed adoringly at keys. But nobody ever got off with her. my car, longing for it, and I gazed equally adoringly, not being able to bear letting ‘My Moving to Brisbane, I sent her down on a Blue Baby’ go. They beeped as they drove off, truck to meet me. She was delighted to find but I couldn’t bring myself to watch her being she had a garage and lots of new places to driven out of my life. The $200 in my hand felt explore. Shorter trips were now more her thing like Judas’ pieces of silver. - to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, hinterland areas and northern NSW. She started to clock I loved up the kilometres with the daily commute to my Toyota work. Corolla. I had her for Lots of people told me to buy a new car, but 26 years, I wouldn’t hear of it. Why would I get rid half of my of such a reliable friend? She let me go on life. No holidays without her and bore no grudge, other car starting up first time on my return. But when will ever Dad & Me at Kakadu (Fo ur I went to work in Scotland, she showed her take her Seasons Motel), 1988 displeasure by needing her brakes fixed and place.
24 me and my TOYOTA
Mary Currenti Toyota Employee,Victoria
I work for Toyota as a Personal Assistant in the Operations and Logistics Division at Altona. These two sculptures were made out of early model Toyota car parts. They were commissioned from the Sydney based sculptor James Corbett for our Middle East Customers Conference showing the historical links between Toyota and Australia.
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These two sculptures were made out of early model Toyota car parts.� Sculptures by James Corbett
me and my TOYOTA 25
Felicity Dalgleish Victoria
MUD, Photograph 2000, 26 x 36cm , $100
I take photos for fun, and often use them later as inspiration for my art practice. My photos, painting and jewellery reflect my interest in the natural world. Our family at present drives a 1993 red Toyota Seca Hatch RV, which we use for a million things, including collecting art materials and delivering art works. This photo came about when a group of us were on a camping holiday. It had recently been raining. The
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Our Toyota was fully loaded. Al backed up about 150 metres so as to get a good run.�
mud in the hole in the road had become super-gluey. Our Toyota was fully loaded. Al backed up about 150 metres so as to get a good run. He needed to gather extra momentum to propel the Toyota through the mud. To become bogged would have meant serious humbug. Those from the lead trucks all got out to watch, - and cheered when he made it through!
26 me and my TOYOTA
Kath Deighton Victoria
In this painting I have tried to capture something about suburbia in Melbourne just after our last hot, hot summer; the street trees, the bright blue sky, a still airiness, flat expanses of parched nature strip, the people inhabiting the landscape. I have enjoyed working with a limited palette and strong compositional devices. I chose to buy this car because I think it’s the sort of car that will be a classic in the future. I love its aqua colouring and the style of its “bum”. It seemed the kind of car that was worth making a painting of, a car with personality. This painting portrays my daughter trying to open the car with the key while I look on, waiting.
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It seemed the kind of car that was worth making a painting of, a car with personality. ” Gumboot Ballerina. Acrylic on canvas 2009, 40.5 x 50.7cm, $340
After completing school, Kath started an Architecture degree but transferred into Industrial Design. She then travelled overseas where she completed a design placement in the Netherlands. On returning, she worked in various small design and illustration jobs then decided to train as a teacher. She taught secondary art and graphics for seven and a half years and gained a great deal of inspiration from her
students as well as consolidating many of her skills, discovering that teaching is a great way of learning. She has maintained her painting interest and practice throughout this time and has recently concentrated more of her time on it. She plans to hold a solo exhibition in 2011 as well as completing a graphic novel. She currently lives in Thornbury with her partner, daughter and various animals.
me and my TOYOTA 27
Laretta Goodacre NSW
Laretta was born in Canberra and is a self-taught artist, drawing and painting since early childhood,. The opportunity to expand her skills through a Diploma of Fine Art at Orange TAFE provided access to printmaking, photography, sculpture and other artistic mediums and disciplines. In 2000, Laretta and her family went to live and work in a remote Aboriginal Community in Western Australia. Two Wet, Coloured pencil on paper 2003, 32.5 x 38cm, NFS
The interaction between people and cultures on all levels, is fascinating to observe and record. What one person or culture values – another may disregard or have no respect for. When cultures, traditions and generations collide or converge, the results can be shocking, grounding and deeply moving. These life experiences are recorded in my work – none more profoundly than those shared with the Aboriginal people, along the “Toyota Dreaming” tracks that span the ancient landscapes of Australia. Remote areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory are commonly referred to as “Toyota Dreaming”. There are more 4WD Toyota ‘cruisers', 'Troopies' and Ravs per square kilometre than kangaroos. The Toyota’s are the most revered mode of transportation, included in every aspect of community life – births, deaths, cultural activities, food gathering, ceremony, secret men’s and women’s business, work and play - black and white mob. These kids would bathe in a Troopie – if it held water! The 44 gallon drum was their only substitute in the Gibson Desert community.
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There are more 4WD Toyota 'Troopies' and Ravs per square kilometre than kangaroos.”
28 me and my TOYOTA
Heather Gallagher
Charles and Me
Victoria
by Heather Gallagher
Charles was my first true love. He had a sleek, flawless body. And he was dependable. We were both born in 1969; a fact that surely meant we were destined for each other. But it also meant that at the time we truly got together, he was already dated, while I was just 18. Charles was my Pa’s beloved Toyota Corona. Thursday afternoons in primary school meant a lift home in his gleaming white chariot. I remember sliding on to the red leather bench seat, sighing with relief that I didn’t have to walk the three streets to my house. And at the end of every journey, Pa would take a cloth from the glove box and wipe down the car, removing specks. And so it was with guilt, elation and fear that I learnt – aged 17 - that I was to inherit my Pa’s car. I named it Charles, after my Pa – although he was known as Charlie. “Charles” had a regal feel and it helped assuage my guilt – how could I enjoy the car when I’d rather have my Pa alive? I began as a nervous driver – that terrible feeling when you’re allowed on the road, in a car, by yourself was overwhelming. For a while. But gradually I became as brazen as the next P-plater. When I was in Charles I felt like I had a protective force field around me. My friends were hysterical, the day I drove into a busy intersection and completed a right-hand-turn where there was a no-righthand-turn sign. Why let road rules get in
the way of our intended course? But within six months I had my first accident and even though it wasn’t my fault and no one was injured, my driving matured overnight. Within a few years I met an eccentric, non-car owning man who would become my husband. The joy of the bench seats became apparent. Richard would wiggle over – seatbelt permitting – and we’d drive, leg to leg with his hand lovingly wrapped around my thigh. After uni, I worked in the country, spending weekends commuting to Melbourne. Charles acted as my guardian angel as I drove along the Princes Highway – sometimes at dawn on a Monday – with eyelids drooping. But, then there was the accident which signaled the end for Charles and me. I was waiting at a red light. Two cars collided and one was catapulted into us. I was traumatized but otherwise fine. Charles was towed away. The insurance company decided he was “a write off” and I received $1000. The day before our wedding, Charles was towed away forever. It was more than a year before I drove again. A second-hand Holden Camira. It broke down within months. I told the tow truck driver how this was a new experience. My last car, a 1969 Toyota Corona, had never broken down. “Well, that was a bloody good car,” he said, rolling his eyes at my lemon, “They don’t make ‘em like that any more.”
Heather is an award-winning journalist whose work has been published in The Age, The Melbourne Times and Leader Newspapers. In 2005, she won the best unpublished script at the inaugural Westgarth Film Festival and this year was awarded a special judge’s prize in the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Tas) Nairda Lyne short story competition. She is currently writing a young adult novel.
me and my TOYOTA 29
Jenny Fraser Northern Territory
Represented by Fireworks Gallery & Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative
The Little Things, Print on ceramic 2009, POA
Jenny is a Digital Native working within a fluid screen-based practice. Her work is regularly exhibited and screened internationally, including ISEA/Zero1 in San Jose and the Interactiva Biennales in Mexico. She is a celebrated artist, recently receiving an honourable mention at the 2007 imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival in Toronto. Because of the diverse creative mediums Jenny uses, much of her work defies categorisation. More recently her work takes iconic and everyday symbols of Australian life and places them into a context that questions the values they represent. With a laconic sense of humour she picks away at the fabric of our society, exposing contradictions, absurdities, and denial. Jenny is interested in refining the art of artist/ curating as an act of sovereignty and emancipation. She is a spearhead for Aboriginal Media Arts, founding cyberTribe online Gallery in 1999 and the Blackout Collective in 2002. More recently she was the first Aboriginal Curator to present a Triennial exhibition in Australia: ‘the other APT’ coinciding and responding to the Asia Pacific Triennial which was then accepted for inclusion into the 2008 Biennale of Sydney. She has travelled extensively and completed residency programs from remote communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory to the Rocky Mountains in Canada and also Raw Space and New Flames in Brisbane.
30 me and my TOYOTA
It's the little things they break you down It's the little things they break your life It's the little things they make you mad It's the little things That really matter Song Lyrics: Little Things by Trinity Roots
Andrew Green Victoria
Artistically speaking I cut my teeth at Atkins Photography taking photos of racehorses at the track. This led to camera operator work for SkyChanel and a string of contracts including Port Adelaide F.C. and the Police Association. During this time I studied journalism at Deakin University while writing for the Uniting Churchs’ monthly as well as taking photos. More recently I was employed as a press photographer for local newspapers including the Leader and have freelanced for The Age and Herald Sun. This work has evolved to my studying painting, drawing, and sculpture at CAE in Degraves Street in the Melbourne CBD. Philosophically speaking my art is constructed – if someone misinterprets my art then I have failed. A major plank of my work is the restoration of Nature – and knowing our place in it.
Between Races, Ideal format analogue photograph 1994, 102 x 81cm, $280
This photo shows Toyota’s long standing connection to Australian sporting culture, something that is broadened by the existence of Toyota Community Spirit Gallery, a project that has helped encourage my art practice. Similarly, horse racing helped to forge a national identity from colonial times to now. The colourful, sweaty, desperate and exhilarating spectacle that became a focus of hundreds of thousands of individuals who collectively comprise Australia’s third largest domestic industry. It was a chance to dress up and admire things. It’s an industry that, from the start, has justifiably been embroiled in controversy. Fortunes have been won and lost and won and lost – and then there is the perennial grinding poverty and excessive whipping. Not to mention steeplechasers who are invariably failed flat racers. Then again it’s the chance for the small man to win big. I can remember our first winner in the country driving back home through a snow storm of cash. It was Fair Village by a streak. Murray Bridge Racing Club is to commence works for water recycling in 2011. me and my TOYOTA 31
Julie-Ann Hall Victoria
Toyota Dreaming, Scourers 2009, 45 x 65cm, $2000
I wanted to depict an Australian landscape that refects its multi cultural nature and its ongoing relationship with Japan. Toyota Dreaming celebrates the positives that come from cultural exchange and mutual respect. Scourers are usually used to clean and l use them as a symbol of taking something out of context and of being able to galvanise the transformative power inherent to the creative process.
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Toyota Dreaming celebrates the positives that come from cultural exchange and mutual respect. �
Julie-Ann worked as a commercial artist for many years before returning to studies in 1997, completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT. Between then and 2003 she was the proprietor and curator of FOYeR espresso bar/installation gallery in Hobart and has since been a English/Art teacher in Thailand, Korea and New York City. She has produced various works including murals, signs and sound installations. She currently lives in Melbourne and works from her Richmond based studio.
32 me and my TOYOTA
Kim Handley Victoria
Jackaroo, Charcoal & acrylic on board 2009, 65 x 95cm, $750
My brother was a jackaroo in outback N.S.W. for a period after he left school. He had use of a Toyota Landcruiser, to cover the vast distances of the property on which he worked, for checking on animals and fences. It was an essential vehicle for travelling over the often harsh terrain of the sheep and cattle station. My picture relates to an experience my brother relayed to me of the time he found the skull and remains of a feral goat which had met its end after becoming entangled in wire mesh. Under the duress of the extreme desert heat the goat had perished before it could be rescued. I grew up in Yarram, South East Gippsland, with my two sisters and one brother. My Dad has always driven Toyota Landcruisers to be best equipped to explore the more rugged terrains of the Aussie landscape. Three consecutive years, when I was a child still in primary school, Mum and Dad took the whole family on what seemed like epic voyages to remote areas of Queensland, outback South Australia, NSW and central Australia. These adventures are forever etched in my mind and were some of the most joyful experiences of my childhood. Tents and camping gear were stowed up on a pack rack Dad had put onto his landcruiser, kids and dogs
travelled in the back and Mum and Dad in the front. Off we’d go on our road trip, usually in convoy with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins in their own vehicle. Getting bogged in bull-dust, open fires, seeing who could spot kangaroos or emus first, playing with paddymelons and rocks in dry riverbeds are vivid images to me. On these camping trips I liked to draw with sticks in the dry earth or put faces on the paddymelons. I have been drawing and painting since I was very young and my continued art practice remains an important vehicle of expression for my ideas and stories today.
me and my TOYOTA 33
Pauline Handley Victoria
Trusty Mate by Pauline Handley
Down in the valleys, or up in the hills goes my trusty steed She complains not, even in slushy mud or scorching heat We have been as one for many years, and done everything You can think of together – heavy loads and always carrying Wood, work gear – you name it – even cow feed. Then there is the family who Love her as much as me For camping and picnics in the hills, or driving on the sand by the sea On outback trips there was no better servant to keep us safe and secure On the road, solid and dependable and ever ready for the next adventure There was always more to do and see Picking blackberries was made easy and fun by your solid body We backed you up and slid into the prickly delicious booty With purple mouths and sticky fingers the kids had their fill of berries Then home we went to make some jam, all feeling scratched but merry Family fun made so much better by your uncomplaining duty Now the family have all gone and today its only you and me You are scratched and old, and so am I, but still we are a team We go to my favourite places and work when we find the time You are my friend and workmate, though we’re both past our prime We may be over the hill these days but we can still do a climb People say, get rid of her! She’s feral and past her used by date But I just laugh and pat your tray and say “no way mate” Another one would look much better but wouldn’t be the same tough old Beauty, as this old girl. She’s a local legend of much refute I just won’t part with my dear old Toyota ute.
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I just won’t part with my dear old Toyota ute.”
34 me and my TOYOTA
Debbie Hill Victoria
Until 1982 the Hoyts drive in (Altona) was located across the road from the current Altona manufacturing plant. My friends and I frequented the drive in most Saturday nights; lots of them drove Toyota’s. While not being totally faithful to the memory of these nights, this work incorporates some of those cars along with the Toyota’s that have been and are owned by family and friends.
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... lots of them drove Toyota’s. ”
Drive In, Conte on Paper mounted on board 2009, 56 x 72cm, $900
Born in Melbourne and currently residing in Ballarat, Debbie completed her BFA (Drawing major) at the University of Ballarat and Honors year at ACU National Melbourne under the supervision of Maryanne Coutts. At the completion of her degree she was awarded the UB International travel award and the NGV Trustees Award and as a result, travelled to North-West Germany and engaged with artists in the Ruhr region. In 2006 she was invited to hold a solo exhibition at the Raum fur Experimental Kunst in Recklinghausen. During the last five years she has been a finalist in a number of prizes including the Banyule Works on Paper
Award, the Williamstown Contemporary Art Prize, the Robert Jacks Drawing Prize and the Dominique Segan Drawing Prize, being Highly Commended in the latter two prizes. In 2007 she was short listed for the Toyota Community Spirit Artist Travel Award. In May she held a solo exhibition at Red Gallery, Fitzroy and in August will have a show at SUB12, Newport. Debbie has been involved in artist book projects in Australia and the UK and has twice been a finalist in the Libris Awards held bi-annually in Mackay, Queensland. Her work is held in collections in Australia, Germany and the UK.
me and my TOYOTA 35
Mark Hayward Victoria
My First Car, Digital Print on Board with Resin Gloss 2009, 61 x 41cm, $245
Mark studied graphic design, majoring in illustration in his final year at Monash University in 1997 and has worked as a graphic designer since 1998. Most notably he is the designer of the current new Australian Passport, which was officially released as standard issue to all Australian travellers on the 28th May 2009. His personal artistic interests include photography and photobased art, drawing, illustration and t-shirt design. In March this year Mark was awarded Artist of the Year at the inaugural Wildspace Exhibition highlighting endangered Australian species at Federation Square.
36 me and my TOYOTA
Kathryn Harrison
Victoria
I grew up on a farm and learnt to drive in my mother’s canary yellow Toyota Corolla. This was a positive experience until my sister took it “paddock bashing” and we went over a channel bank and landed in the channel. I fainted while my sister’s panicked thinking I was dead. When I recovered, Dad got a tractor and pulled it out. It still went as good as new. Now that’s tough. I still live in the country, with my husband and three beautiful daughters. I work as a part time teacher librarian and write and illustrate in the other part of my world. Fifty years at the snowy Acrylic and fimo 2009, 32 x 26cm, $100
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I grew up on a farm and learnt to drive in my mother’s canary yellow Toyota Corolla. ”
me and my TOYOTA 37
Nicolas Hogios Toyota Employee, Victoria
Chaser, Acrylic on canvas 2009, 61 x 152cm, $400
The car I own, my passion, was never sold in Australia. A Japanese model only, it escapes me how this car was never sold all over the world. It has spawned a subculture of enthusiasts around the world and even in Australia is revered as a mighty car. Even though it is 13 years old, it is still capable of outperforming new and much more expensive cars today. Renowned for its natural drifting capability (still winning Drift Championships today) this car
is a great dichotomy of conservative exterior look with intrinsic performance and intense fun. Having lived in Japan, I have seen this car both in its original context and in a very, very different setting here in Australia – regardless, it lives up to its ad campaign moniker, “The Strong”. This is my JZX100 Toyota Chaser. In the background is the original Toyota Jidosha logo – The Chaser, like this logo, embodies the best of what Toyota stands for.
Nicolas began work at Toyota in 2003 as a senior designer at Toyota Style Australia (TMCA’s styling design studio). He was soon promoted to Design Manager before a ten month secondment to Design Headquarters in Nagoya, Japan. Cars that he has designed include the exterior design of Sportivo Coupe Concept Car and the Toyota Aurion. He has a Bachelor of Industrial Design from University of NSW (Class 1 Hons – Dux). His visual art practice is mostly self-taught and focuses mainly on concept art and futurism.
38 me and my TOYOTA
Heather Horrocks
Victoria
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...to a ‘T’ Charcoal on paper (Arches) Found object (plastic) 2009, 81 x 55 cm, $750
Celicas – sleek and sharp – invaded our wide brown land decades ago.”
Celicas – sleek and sharp – invaded our wide brown land decades ago. Some people still love ’em. A broken badge on the road signals ... what? A crash? Thievery? Abandonment? The only clue is a missing ‘T’. By the magic of art a mystery is solved, an identity restored, and pride returned. And I’m in the driver’s seat, racing back to the 80s.
Heather draws people and things. She prefers natural materials and is in love with charcoal for its sharp, messy, unpredictableness and big, tough rag papers for their capacity to enhance the making of marks, whether with burnt sticks, brushes, hands, erasers, pencils, pastels or knitting needles. Found objects are another, continuing interest. Busy roads and gutters in industrial suburbs yield up treasure for reworking into art pieces. Heather is a late, but enthusiastic starter along the arts road.
me and my TOYOTA 39
Carole Howe Victoria
Me & My Toyota by Carole Howe
In 1967 it was all about Crowns and Tiaras. I was working at a country Toyota dealership – Sale TOYOTA. It was a time when local businessmen and wealthy graziers bought the king of cars – the prestigious Toyota Crown, and women chose the princess – the Toyota Tiara. And then along came the sleek Toyota Celica coupe for the free-spirited, wind-inhair, get-yourself-lookedat people.
me & my Toyota Corona photo for tv advertisement
How strong were these cars? I undertook a crash test on a Toyota Corolla. Late for an appointment, I reversed with a dash of speed down the driveway, unfortunately clipping the brick front fence. The noise reverberated as the fence collapsed and bricks tumbled in all directions. The fear of reprisal – how much was this going to cost? Not a scratch! The sumo-strong little Corolla demolished a brick fence and emerged unscathed.
Toyota’s sold at an amazing rate. It was time for a change of ownership – the older generation made way for the new – sold the dealership. It became Colin Lucas Sale Toyota. Me & the Boss's TOYOTA, and was an wife with a Toyota Crown, 1967 exciting era. Innovative new premises were built – the Toyota range now displayed in a Japanese-temple-style building that is still impressive to this today. The The dealership changed hands again – a Holden and Ford dealerships looked dull in new name, Rose TOYOTA. The Toyota range, comparison. having gained a reputation for quality and reliability, continued to claim a large Toyota catered for everyone. The Corona proportion of the motor market in Sale, and Corolla sold rapidly, appealing to the Victoria. In 1982, after 15 years working in astute buyer requiring a practical, stylish Toyota dealerships, I said goodbye, proud to and economical vehicle. As Office Manager, have been associated with Toyota from its I was supplied with a vehicle – a Corona or a early days in the country. Corolla. Television advertisements were made – me and my TOYOTA Corona. Photos top & top right supplied by Colin Lucas Toyota, Sale
40 me and my TOYOTA
Susan Jacobsen New South Wales
“
... my Toyota is reliable, tough and adaptable, flexible, dependable ...”
ESCAPE, Mixed media on board 2009, 80 x 90cm, POA
My marks, rhythms and lines tell of emotional responses and personal history. Rapid deliberate gestures are etched, dripped and dragged: then partially removed. This response to my Landcruiser is haphazard and unrestrained, yet fluid and lyrical. Loved like a child’s favourite “brown bear”, my Toyota is reliable, tough and adaptable, flexible, dependable, and ready to “ESCAPE” at a moments notice.
Susan studied art at Newcastle Visual Arts School in the late 1970s and has completed further studies in drawing, ceramics and painting. She has worked in visual arts education at secondary and tertiary levels, but currently continues her art practice from her home studio. In 2003 she was a finalist in the Country Energy Art Prize and the Redlands Art Awards in 2008.
me and my TOYOTA 41
Neale Jolly Victoria
“ continuum, Mixed media 2009, 126 x 94cm, $550
42 me and my TOYOTA
Continuum is a journey to the centre of Australia to discover one of our most recognisable icons – Ulluru. The road is long and hard but the rewards along the way are grand and worthwhile. Similar to the direction of Toyota 50 years in Australia. It’s road is true and it’s commitment is great. Toyota is not about when you get there, but about ‘how you arrive’. Toyota in Australia… continues.”
Cyril James Kerinauia
Northern Territory
Represented by Tiwi Design Aboriginal Corporation
Toyota Hunting Party Ceramic 3D slab sculpture, underglaze decoration on earthernware clay 2006 60x42x14cm, $7700
Art is my life to keep my culture strong and make sure I pass it on to my children and grandchildren. Clay is fun to work with and it’s the same like we do with carving making figures of our ancestors, island life, hunting, ceremony dancing, going out fishing, it’s all culture. That’s what my art is all about. I feel really good when I am out fishing or hunting and I smell the country and am part of the surroundings. Then I come back and can make something new. This sculpture is about a tiwi hunting trip to Tarntipi – a beautiful beach near Nguiu on Bathurst Island. A party of Tiwi Design artists and workers set out
in the art centre Toyota in search of bush tucker. This vehicle is also used for collecting ironwood and ochre to create carvings and other artworks and we go hunting at the same time. This Toyota is important to us because we can go bush, go hunting, and get back to country. I decorated it with mingatiwi body painting design for ceremony (jilamara). It is special that truck. All my friends and artists are in that truck. We went hunting for wallaby and we fished all day. We caught a couple of fish, couple of crab, three wallaby. Afterwards we had a feed and went for a swim at the waterhole.
Cyril is an artist and curator who was awarded the Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award in 1999 at the National Aboriginal Art Awards and curated a traveling exhibition for the National Gallery of Victoria in 2003.His works are held in museums and galleries in Germany, Japan and Australia.
me and my TOYOTA 43
Carol Kite Victoria
Warrnambool Fissure Ink, mono print, watercolour, pencil, collage, on paper 2009, 56 x 76cm, $800
I have recently been working on paper using mix media and a limited palette to break up the landscape. This mirrors my life and the different segments that unite together to form my existence. This work was created after driving to Warrnambool in my old red Corolla. I am interested in symbols and the marks of language and sound. How can marks indicate sound and how is sound indicated by the use of colour? I am confronted by the marks that man and animals also leave on the land. It is these two elements I try to unite.
44 me and my TOYOTA
Carol completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at RMIT in 1993 and has studied landscape painting with Jeffrey Makin. In 2008 she was a finalist in The Nillumbik Art Prize at Montsalvat.
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This work was created after driving to Warrnambool in my old red Corolla ...�
Edie Kurzer Victoria
Although I have been making super 8 films for a long time, it is now much easier to play with the footage. I miss setting up the projector and screen in the living room, but the opportunity to capture the images and manipulate them on the computer outweighs the nervous moments of hoping that the bulb still works and that the film won’t get stuck and break. These two films are very particular to my years spent in the Northern Territory… the long wheel base was an integral part of that time where access to many of the places we needed to go was very limited and we had to carry everything with us… people, food, dogs, gin and tonic, and, of course, our swags. Edie is a theatre and film designer, furniture designer, film-maker, stencil printing teacher, traveller, knitter, mother, sister, friend. Image top: Leavin’ Darwin and right Litchfield ‘84 (image stills shown) DVD 2009, POA
me and my TOYOTA 45
John Langford South Australia
Camry Engine, Watercolour & gouche on paper 1990, 28 x 36cm, $30 unframed
“ 46 me and my TOYOTA
I have had many cars over the years. Volvo’s, Jaguars, Holden, Ford etc but I swear the Toyota tops the list. Reliable, economical, comfortable, good engineering. Well done Japan!”
Niningka Lewis South Australia
Represented by Ernabella Arts
Niningka was born in the bush in 1947 at a place north of Areyonga. Her parents had previously come to live at Ernabella but were on holiday on foot, as people would do every year still at that time. As a baby she came to Ernabella where she grew up, accompanying her family on annual holidays to many places such as Angus Downs, Curtin Springs and Imanpa. After school she worked at the Ernabella Mission craft room, where Winnifred Hilliard taught her how to spin sheep’s wool and weave rugs. She moved to Amata as a young woman and worked in the clinic before settling in Kalka where she married and had one son. Shortly after she began developing her skills in batik, and became one of the supervisors for the Kalka women’s centre. In 1997 Niningka was introduced to coiled basketry. She went on to become an expert weaver and wood carver. She also made the first life-sized grass figure for the Tjanpi Manguri Weaving exhibition in 2000 that anticipated the Tjanpi Desert Weavers’ move into figurative sculpture-making. She is highly regarded as an innovator. When Niningka’s husband sadly passed away, she came back to Ernabella to be at home and to spend time with her older sister, Pantjiti Lionel. She now works at the Ernabella art centre again, painting, making tjanpi, punu, mukata (beanies), batik and recently paintings. Her works have been exhibited internationally in Germany and USA with Maruku Arts and throughout Australia including the Art Gallery of NSW.
Toyota Tjukurpa (Toyota Dreaming) Acrylic on linen 2009, 120 x 120cm, $2500
The Toyota is a symbol of life in remote communities. It represents freedom, and the ability to continue living a semi-nomadic existence. Toyota's are so important to Anangu as they mean being able to travel long distances to visit family and country in just a few hours or days, journeys that took months before whitefellas came to their lands. They are revered, talked about and prayed for, and it is every family's dream to have a Toyota, because once you've got a Toyota, you can go hunting for malu (kangaroo) and ngintaka (goanna) - 'Kuka wiru! (Good food).' For artists such as Niningka, the Toyota also represents travelling to exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations, which is all part of being an Ernabella artist. Niningka made sure that the driver is wearing a mukata (hat or beanie), as Ernabella artists are also expert beanie makers! me and my TOYOTA 47
Margareth Ljubinkovic Victoria
My First Car 1981
My first car - Myself and my partner at the time took my new "used� Toyota Corona for a drive up into The Dandenongs. He suggested it would be a great idea for me to get a photo taken with my first car as I would look back one day and it would be a great memory.... Well he was right! What a great car... even if it was a used car... and what a great photo... and what a great flashback...!
48 me and my TOYOTA
My Independence 1995
My Independence ... when I bought this Toyota Hiace Campervan I felt such freedom. I could drive wherever I wanted to and sleep wherever I wanted to... no restrictions on booking ahead and I had my own cooking facilities, fridge, bed... all in the car! What a fantastic experience that was for me...total freedom...what a great invention campervans are! A home away from home!
Lux Victoria
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Manga Vans, Digitally edited photograph 2009, 56 x 66cm, $350
As an Australian residing in Japan in 2003, I was amazed at the way the Japanese were able to bring a fantastic element into everyday objects – specifically cars that were customised beyond what I believed was safe for driving. This Toyota van had fins and tails, glowing lights, and a music system good enough for a movie theatre!”
I have been painting and drawing for years, but became very interested in photography while residing in Japan between 2000-03. I have developed a liking for using unusual cameras to record my memories. Recently my focus has been on painting and lino printing. I am also very interested in using recycled materials in some of my artworks, such as using metcards as a canvas, and creating sculptures out of household items.
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David Marshall Victoria
My First Car 1968 Toyota Corolla (wheel trims, door & window handles, chrome trim) Toyota Crown (bonnet trim/badge) and mixed media 2009, 40x50x50cm, NFS
Exploring a personal/historical connection between Toyota and myself through contemporary sculpture. My First Car A chronology of milestones past. The day I first crawled, my first steps. The appearance of my first tooth, my first day at school. My first bike, the first romance. My first job.
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Toyota Corolla [origin Latin 'little crown of flowers'] ...�
My first car. 'Oh what a feeling' A 1968 Toyota Corolla [origin Latin 'little crown of flowers'] its grey/brown paintwork polished to a brilliant shine. The pride and joy, a true celebration of independence and freedom. The status and prestige to be able to travel near and far. I was the king of the road adorned and resplendent in my 'Crown of Flowers'.
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David has worked as a landscape contractor for the past twenty-seven years, specialising in the design and construction of Japanese gardens/ interiors. Now semi-retired, he has been developing his ideas and concepts in recent times and is pursuing opportunities in the field of contemporary sculpture. In 2008 he was Highly Commended in the Current Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition at Wangaratta and was this year a finalist in the Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize and the Toorak Sculpture Prize.
Dr John Martino Victoria Toyota Dreaming by Dr John Martino
This is a story about Toyota vehicles and their perception by members of Australia’s indigenous community. The story is based upon the experiences of an Australian anthropologist. It is entitled ‘Toyota Dreaming’ for reasons that will become evident as I relay this novel relationship between the car manufacturer and the fabled Dreamtime of the Australian aboriginal community.
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Toyota 4-wheel drives have earned it became something of a new ‘tribal custom’ for elders to request mining access part-payment in the form of a Troop Carrier, Landcruiser or Hilux. In fact, so popular did this form of car-currency become that it was a clear indication that the miners were “in town” if members of local indigenous communities could be spotted merrily driving around in brand new Toyota 4-wheel drives.
During his three years in the As my anthropologist friend outback, my anthropologist So delighted informed me, the most friend soon learnt that his remarkable thing about with their very survival depended this trade relationship was new vehicles on his vehicle’s reliability the imaginative title that it and that his faith in Toyota acquired. As is well known, ... that there sprung 4-wheel drive vehicles was Aboriginal peoples up a fresh mythology Australia’s shared in some unusual represent a truly ancient that now refers to ways. Even though much of civilisation and in their the Australian outback is more than 40,000 years of an important new notoriously inhospitable, the settlement they type of Dreamtime – permanent mining boom in this part have developed a particularly ‘Toyota Dreaming’ of the country had opened rich mythology. One way of up the land to some very expressing this Aboriginal promising opportunities. mythic thinking is referred to Mining companies would despatch geologists as ‘The Dreamtime’, where fabled Ancestor and site-explorers to trawl the outback Spirits established the very seeds of creation. for mineral-rich deposits, while the local There are many forms of this type of mythic Aboriginal peoples would then negotiate creationism, such as Kangaroo Dreaming, mining access if deposits were located. It Shark Dreaming, or Honey Ant Dreaming. It was a win-win situation, where this seemingly was within this tapestry of myths that this near-dead land offered up its fruits to both Toyota car-currency trade has now become mining prospectors and the traditional interwoven. So delighted with their new landowners. Deals were often struck that vehicles were many tribal members that there gave mining companies access to these sites, sprung up a fresh mythology that now refers thereby economically benefiting the entire to an important new type of Dreamtime – Australian community, while the native people ‘Toyota Dreaming’. Earth’s oldest culture and would attract much-needed revenue into their the first great settlers of this country have often impoverished communities. actually given new mythic life to the legendary products of a car manufacturer from very There was, though, one other form of distant shores who – while only having been truly-unique negotiating currency that present in this land for about half a century operated between mining companies and – are now situated in a mythic tradition the Aboriginal landowners. Because of stretching back more than 400 centuries. the unrivalled reputation for reliability that
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Andrew May New South Wales
Ttv Toyota, Ttv Photograph 2009, 20 x 20cm, $300
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I am an artist first and foremost and never a photographic technician. Photography has been a reliable love that I encountered in the late 1990s which still holds a fascination for me after branching into other creative mediums over the last 10 years. I enjoy shying away from the obvious that dominates contemporary photography in its revolving repetition. I am on my own personal journey as an artist and photographer and have no photographic idols.�
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Gail McDaniel Toyota Employee, Victoria
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... it wasn’t so surprising that I would go on to do an apprenticeship at Toyota as a fitter and turner.” Fun in the little blue Echo Paper mache, wood, wire, plastic, aluminium and paint 2005 20x20x40cm, NFS
I grew up in the country and when I wasn’t out in the bush building cubby houses, wooden stilts and billycarts, I would be inside creating something whether it be drawing and painting, cutting and gluing, knitting or sewing. If I wanted something I made it. So it wasn’t so surprising that I would go on to do an apprenticeship at Toyota as a fitter and turner. Maybe the only surprising thing was that I was 40 when I started the apprenticeship with 3 kids 10, 14 and 16. That was 13 years ago and I still love working at Toyota, where I should clock up 25 years service before I retire. This was a piece of art work created out of recycled materials for a competition open to employees and their families during open day in 2005. My 3 children and grandson also entered their work as well.
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Norma McGowan Victoria
AB Phaeton 1936, Linocut Print on Japanese Mogami Paper 2009, 38 x 46.5cm, $230
I worked for many years as a GP in the Western Suburbs. After retiring from my practise I was able to fulfil a dream of studying art. My parents had not allowed me to go to art school as it was not suitable for young ladies! I am currently studying for my Masters having completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at RMIT in 2007. While researching my entry for this exhibition I became fascinated with the Toyota Phaeton. It was the first Toyota passenger sedan built in 1936. The AB Phaeton was the convertible version of the original AA model. I have chosen to construct this image using a hand manufactured printing process, a time honoured art making process in Japan.
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I became fascinated with the Toyota Phaeton. It was the first Toyota passenger sedan built in 1936.�
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MR2 Owners Club of Australia Victoria Branch
The MR2 OWNERS' CLUB OF AUSTRALIA was formed by a few keen enthusiasts following a TOYOTA sponsored driver education day at Calder raceway where purchasers of the new 1990 model MR2 were invited to learn more about the handling characteristics of the MR2, a very unique motor car. The club now caters for all models of the MR2. Toyota in Melbourne assisted the MR2 Club of Australia to get started by inviting MR2 owners to the first meeting held on 28 June 1991 at Dandenong. With Toyota’s support, subsequent meetings were held at the
Melbourne upon their return from Barcelona in 1992. And again the MR2 Club was on hand to provide the MR2 Spyder for the 2004 AFL Grand Final parade in Melbourne on Friday and again at the game on Saturday.
Toyota Conference Centre in Port Melbourne. Toyota was also instrumental in assisting the other State branches of the Club to become established.
Confederation of Australian MotorSport. A CAMS basic or superior licence is mandatory to take part in competitive club events.
Toyota provided support by printing and posting the newly formed MR2 Owners' Club of Australia (VIC Branch) Inc. monthly Newsletter called “Track Record”. Over the first couple of years Toyota and the Club had a very close relationship when a Toyota employee was appointed as part of their job description to look after and promote the MR2 Club in all their endeavours. In return the MR2 Owners' Club of Australia (VIC Branch) Inc. was able to assist Toyota with various promotional efforts. The two highlights being the Club provided MR2 vehicles for the Olympic Team’s parade of
The club hosts events such as Navigational Rally's, Hillclimb's and 1/4 mile sprints. Events organised cater for all interests, from picnics, BBQ's and social outings to road rallies, car trials, driver education, motorkhana's and motor racing. The MR2 Club is incorporated and affiliated with
Today the MR2 Owners' Club of Australia (VIC Branch) Inc. continues the relationship with Toyota by holding our AGM at Toyota Melbourne Headquarters and meeting regularly in Bertie Street for the start of Sunday Club Outings. This sets the atmosphere for the day and the members still get a thrill out of having a photograph taken of their “pride and Joy” MR2 with the large Toyota sign as a backdrop. Over the years the MR2 Owners Club of Australia has enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Toyota particularly in Victoria and we hope that this relationship will continue to grow with the club.
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Susan Muldowney Victoria
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I became aware that the car actually becomes a member of the family.”
My Car, Oil on canvas 2008, 77 x 61cm, $250
I’ve only had four exhibitions in my career but I have been painting since I was 11 years old. I absolutely love it! My children are grown up now which means I am able to concentrate on my artwork more than ever. Lately I’ve just been trying to get my work out there. I’m quite shy and so the social expectations unnerve me. I would prefer just to paint. I am constantly changing and developing my style depending on how I feel at the time. An old photo of my husband and his first car inspired this painting. I became aware that the car actually becomes a member of the family.
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Robert Murrell New South Wales
Represented by Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney
This image depicts the Toyopet Crown and my future step-mother, Liew Sean Keet, in the Penang Botanical Gardens, Malaysia c. 1962. My father was in the RAAF and bought the Toyopet for about A$1000. My family has many fond memories of this time and enjoyed many trips in the comfort of the Crown. My father took this shot with his Minolta and although it is in sepia, I remember vividly the light metallic green and chrome trim of the Toyopet. We shipped the car back to Australia in 1963, and after clocking up over 100,000 miles my father sold the Crown for a Toyota Corona, in 1968. For all of us, Keet and the Toyota Crown symbolised a new beginning. Robert has a Bachelor of Fine Art and a Graduate Diploma in Painting from University of NSW College of Fine Art. Keet and the Toyopet Crown, Photograph 1962, 39 x 34cm, NFS
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For all of us, Keet and the Toyota Crown symbolised a new beginning.� me and my TOYOTA 57
Ilona Nelson Victoria
Freedom & Lies, Photograph on cotton rag paper Edition 1/2 2009, $1000
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My dad has had Toyota utes for as long as I can remember. I'm filled with childhood memories of being squished in the cabin with my family on our way to collect firewood, my sister's second accident and the feeling of freedom when standing up and riding in the tray.� Ilona's work is an exploration of self identity continually assessing her placement in contemporary culture, with a glint of humour in her eye. She completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree, major in photography, with distinction in 1998 and has been exhibiting regularly since then. She grew up in country Victoria and now resides in Melbourne with her husband, son, and Barkly the boxer. Her next solo exhibition The Family Mould is showing July 2009 in Melbourne. For more details visit www. illyphotography.com
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Monty Osewald Victoria
First Love, Photograph 2009, 85 x 75cm, $800
Monty holds a Master of Arts from Dresden Academy of Art in Germany having completed undergraduate studies in Victoria and a Post Graduate Diploma at Victorian College of the Arts. Artist residencies include Deakin University and Academy of Art, Dresden; exhibitions include Berlin, Hong Kong and Osaka, and his works are represented at Australian Print Council, Art Bank, Australian Reserve Bank and private collections around the world.
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Bernadette Pilli Victoria
On the Road from Canberra, Oil on canvas 2008, 20 x 40cm, $180
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For many years while travelling in my Toyota Corolla, on the highways of South East Australia, I have taken photos of the landscape as I have passed through it. From some of these I have a developed a series of paintings of which this is one” Bernadette’s most recent solo exhibition was held at 69 Smith Street Gallery in Fitzroy last year and this year she was a finalist in the Williamstown Festival Contemporary Arts Prize.
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Jutta Pryor Victoria
We Travelled – then for a moment we stood still, Digital Print 2009, 50 x 114cm, $500
I have a background in advertising and technical illustration but in recent years have been pursuing and exhibiting my fine art practice, this year being a finalist in the Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize and the Melbourne Awards Wildspace Exhibition held at The Atrium at Federation Square. I have a passion for photography, skiing and travel in remote regions of Australia. Our two Toyota 4WD’s, a Prado and a Landcruiser, enable us to access this diverse country. These images depict a journey of personal growth and environmental contrasts. Leaving the city lights of Melbourne on an exploration of the vast open spaces of Central Australia and finally arriving in the ancient landscape of Arnhem Land. Driving our Landcruiser, my son experienced a variety of driving conditions both on and off road whilst on ‘L’ plates. We travelled forward, yet at the same time we travelled into the past, discovering ancient vistas and cultures. Then, for a moment we stood still.
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Our two Toyota 4WD’s, a Prado and a Landcruiser, enable us to access this diverse country.”
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Samuel Quadflieg Victoria
Embrace of Winton By Samuel Quadflieg
Not much is happening, yet I am more anxious than I have been for quite some time. We have all come from a long way just for this, all lined up in twin rows we eagerly wait. Inside my helmet, I feel sweat run down my cheek. The day was just as forecasted and the rules mandated for me to be fully covered. Looking for a distraction I turn my head and make eye contact with a friend nearby. I can sense he is feeling the same way as he nods and gives me the thumbs up. After what feels like an eternity I see evidence of our time being near. I turn the key and the engine fires into life with a high pitched whine. Others seem to get the idea and soon the rumble of my car is drowned by the revving of other engines all around me. After what seems like another long wait, we are waved out one by one until it’s my turn. My anxiety intensifies even further as we near the start gate.
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time at almost double the speed. With the familiarity of my surroundings settling in I wait till the corner is almost on me. With a firm press my oversized brakes rapidly do their work and pull hard to let me safely navigate the sharp bend. Turning out of another corner the track seems to embrace me as I accelerate hard down the short straight. As the needle of my Tacho passes the very red 8 on the fascia all of my 20 valves are furiously moving in unison. I am now driving with sheer determination, almost as if I were paying homage to the Bathurst record breakers of the same model twenty years prior. Five years of dedicated work had all come to this point and I was using it for everything it could give me.
As the needle of my Tacho passes the very red 8 on the fascia all of my 20 valves are furiously moving in unison”.
Not knowing what to expect my front wheels hit the asphalt of a racetrack for the first time. Cautiously I take the first corner, testing myself and the surface. My anxious feelings soon disappear. Pure excitement takes its place. In what seems like no time I have gone right round to see myself pass my starting point and face my first initial corner once again, this
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Moving around the track I find myself behind a much larger car. Its loud twin exhausts reveal to me it has an engine many times the size of mine. Biding my time I wait for the right opportunity. Time passes until I see it veer wide around a corner under its heavy weight. Not waiting for a second chance I use my advantage to turn hard on the inside. Passing him I smile knowing he probably wouldn’t even know what a Toyota Sprinter is as I leave him behind to grapple with his car.
David Questa Victoria
When I'm in my '77, Oil on canvas 2009, 61 x 92cm, $1500
My work is concerned with the everyday - people, modes of transport and the urban environment. In 2004 I produced a series of paintings of the cars I remembered from my childhood; those belonging to family and neighbours, typically Austins, Fords and Vauxhalls
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'Renate' a 1976 Celica RA-23 Coupe and 'Sarah' a 1977 Celica RA-28 Fastback. He explained; "When I'm in my '77 it feels like pretty much everyone's looking at me, which is good because I know I'm in a nice machine. My '76 is more sporty, more of a corner junky. By the time
When I'm in my '77 it feels like pretty much everyone's looking at me, which is good because I know I'm in a nice machine.�
with the occasional Datsun or Toyota. The style of Japanese cars from the 1970s has always caught my eye, so when I heard about this exhibition I knew exactly what I wanted to paint. I contacted Phillip and he agreed to pose with his two beloved Toyota Celicas,
people look at me, I'm already gone". As Phillip gave me a lift back to Dandenong station in the RA-28 these sentiments became clear as 'Sarah' gained admiring glances from passers-by and other motorists.
me and my TOYOTA 63
Alex Reznick New South Wales
Timeless, Lambda Print 2008, 60 x 75cm, $200
Alex was born Moscow, Russia but emigrated to Australia in 1990 and has since lived in Sydney. He graduated a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts in 2004 and has exhibited works in a variety of media including video, sculpture, print-media and photography. He is currently working as a photographer and retoucher in Sydney.
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Janet Riddell Victoria
In 1968 I worked as a teacher in Papua New Guinea with Australian Volunteers Abroad. In school holidays, three of us journeyed up the Highlands Highway to Mt Hagen with a local man driving a Toyota truck. I can’t remember the model but I am told probably it was a Toyota Stout. Sitting in the back I became aware how steep are those mountains, how beautiful the valleys, how hospitable the people. And I really appreciated our sturdy truck which never faltered in that extreme terrain.
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... three of us journeyed up the Highlands Highway to Mt Hagen with a local man driving a Toyota truck.”
My Toyota Adventure Oil on canvas 2009, 61 x 51cm, $250
Janet grew up in the Riverland of South Australia. After working as a volunteer in PNG, she joined the public service and lived in PNG for several years and later in Indonesia. She settled in Melbourne in the 1980's and worked in writing and politics before returning to studies in visual art, graduating from Victoria University in 2008.
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Pauline Roberts Victoria
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The first car I ever owned was a 1972 Toyota Corona, affectionately known as ‘Clive’.”
Best Mates, Photograph 2009, $275
I have always loved capturing “the moment” on film and with the advent of digital photography, it’s become an even more addictive past-time. In recent years I have been chuffed to receive a few awards as testament to my developing skill with the camera, but I am very much aware that moments of serendipity feature in my work. The first car I ever owned was a 1972 Toyota Corona, affectionately known as ‘Clive’. It took my friends and me on many happy weekends away into the bush, where we could enjoy the magical smell of the eucalypts, the camaraderie of good company, and the fantastic, awe inspiring scenery. Not a lot has changed in 30 years; mountains, mirrored lakes and the world of nature in macro are still my favourite subjects. What could be more quintessentially Australian than a farmer with his dogs and his truck, a Toyota of course! Happily Brian and his three mates – Abbey, Jody and Chewy – were most willing to oblige with my unusual request, “Ummm… I’m entering a photographic competition and was wondering if you could help me please?” What are friends for? Thanks mate.
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Darren Ryan
Toyota Employee, New South Wales
Left at the lights!, Photograph 2004, 30 x 42cm, NFS
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This photo was taken while on holiday in 2004 on a stretch of road between Broken Hill and White Cliffs.”
Darren is a Retail Development Sales Kaizen Manager with Toyota Motor Corporation in Caringbah, NSW.
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John Ryan Queensland
Toyota, 50 Years of reliable family fun, Photograph 2009
This is a photo of my children enjoying our 1964 Toyota Tiara. I have had an interest in Australia’s first Toyota’s for more than ten years. During that time I have owned and restored no less than ten of these iconic cars. My family shares my love for early Toyota’s and the Tiara in my photo was purchased as a birthday present for my wife. Tiara’s were the first Toyota assembled in Australia and this wagon runs as well today as it did on the day it was purchased new. I believe there is only a handful of these wagons still left in existence.
68 me and my TOYOTA
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... this wagon runs as well today as it did on the day it was purchased new.”
Vin Ryan Victoria
In 1993 my partner and I bought a 79 Toyota Corolla two door coupe. I guess when I think of that car now, it’s become irrevocably associated with my relationship with my partner over the ten year period that we had the car. You don’t realise what a constant a car becomes in your life. You go away on holidays in the car, you tear out of the driveway in it after a fight, you fold back the seats and have drunken sex, you have near death experiences together every
time you drive down Punt Road. Despite the fact that it was an old car I can’t remember ever worrying about whether it would start. I assumed that it would always be there. Relationships are like that. The car was stolen and trashed a few years ago and dumped outside a church in Sunshine. We’ve since bought a house in Sunshine and live there with our baby. We’ve just bought an old Camry.
9 views: 79 Corolla, Acrylic on paper 2000, Approx 90 x 140cm, 9 works $3000 or $350 each
Vin is a Melbourne based artist whose media include installation, photography, video and sculpture. For the last few years his practice has focused primarily on drawing and the exploration and questioning of the nature of drawing. He has recently been selected for The Mornington Peninsula and the Hazelhurst Regional Gallery’s works on paper prizes, I Walk the Line: New Australian Drawing at the MCA in Sydney. Vin is represented in private collections in Australia and New Zealand.
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Libby Schreiber Victoria
This work is a light hearted reflection on my husbands relationship with his Toyota vehicles. In 1959, his Grandfather, Dick Issac, established Albion Motors Kyabram, a proud Toyota Dealership that remains in the family today. Needless to say, Peter has owned many Toyota’s, each one purchased with very specific needs in mind. My personal favourite was the Hi-Ace which has outlasted all its predecessors. This car represented a time of great adventure, before mortgages, marriage, babies and permanent work. It allowed Peter to pursue his dreams and being a keen fisherman, often ventured successfully to places better suited to 4WD’s. Relocating to Melbourne meant changes, and sadly the old favourite was eventually replaced by a family car (Camry) and work ute (Hi-Lux).
A Living Legend, Relief Print 2009, 88 x 64cm $550 framed, $350 unframed
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In 1959, his Grandfather, Dick Issac, established Albion Motors Kyabram ...”
I completed a Degree In Fine Arts in 1989, majoring in painting and have spent the last 19 years teaching art to secondary students. Teaching has always taken priority until 2003 when I decided to make a year 12 Art folio as an example to my students. I chose print as my medium because of the exploratory work it allows and had no idea that I would exhibit my finished prints 18 months later in the Castlemaine State Festival. In 2006 I left work to go on maternity leave. This has given me the chance to explore my art style and develop themes as well as enter various competitions and exhibitions. I couldn't resist the Toyota theme as I married into a family of Toyota enthusiasts and have found their relationship to Toyota rather amusing over the years. Thanks to the competition, I have been able to create an artwork that has helped me come to terms with their passion.
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Kylie Sirett Victoria
I have a passionate interest in photography and travel – the more challenging, remote and diverse – the better! Our Toyota Hilux makes our travels possible, but I also have another connection to Toyota as my mother Anne worked in the cafeteria at the Toyota Port Melbourne office for Australian Commercial Catering for approximately five years.
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Our Toyota Hilux makes our travels possible ...”
In 2005 I travelled through central Australia and across the Simpson Desert with friends in two Toyota Hilux vehicles. Over the dunes and across the salt lakes the landscape continually took our breath away, a truly an inspiring and amazing experience.
Amongst the Sand Dunes in the Simpson Desert, Photograph 2005, 69 x 52cm, $295
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Elizabeth Slezak Victoria
Whose Toyota Is It?, Photograph 2007, 36 x 41cm, $120
Since 1992, I have driven three cars, all Toyota Corolla Secas. The photograph Whose Toyota Is It? was produced in 2007 for the series of black and white photographs titled So How Do You Travel? In this work I explored the motorist’s relationship to his/her vehicle. Cars are excellent communicators: they can indicate such things as age, gender, marital and social status, occupation etc. They signify identity and
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Cars are excellent communicators ...they signify identity and difference. ”
difference. The photograph was taken in my current car, a 1996 Toyota Corolla Seca (Hback red) and it explores the owner’s relationship to her vehicle. The image represents the female ownership and space of the car – TOYOTA Elizabeth was born in Poland and immigrated to Australia in 1982. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree but her interests in photography came when she decided to pursue visual arts in 2004, completing first a Diploma, and then continue studying for a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) at Gordon Institute of TAFE. She is also a painter and printmaker.
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Carolyn Smith Victoria
Cruising the Land by Carolyn Smith
A tangle of tanned kids burst out the flywire door. At last it's here; our FJ40 Land Cruiser. It's boxy body is grey-green ugly. My brothers fight for first turn behind the wheel. "What's up", says Dad? Scuffing my feet in the gravel I don't know what to say. In my mind I see something sleek and streamlined. "You don't like it? The FJ40 was the king of the Snowy. It's the best". Hurray it's the holidays! Dad's bending intently over a map spread cloth-like over the table. The garage is full to bursting with tents, poles, bulging duffels, kitted knapsacks. We're packed, stacked and bowling down the drive heading for the Otway's, chattering like magpies. Snaking around the Great Ocean Road I ride a rollercoaster of fear and excitement, swooping around the hairpin bends. Lunch and the peppercorn trees cast their dusty smell as they shade our picnic table. I kick my feet hard against the wooden seat, savouring the taste of bottled peaches and custard. The sundappled Lake Elizabeth spreads liquidly before us; twinkling and flashing. We plunge arrow straight into the biting cold lake. Cicadas are thrumming in the trees as the sun sets, revealing velvety darkness where stars shine like jeweller's shop diamonds. Full of food, my body aching sweetly, I drift away in sleep as the gas lantern buzzes and fizzes in the night. A montage of memories; days of sunshine; swimming and sailing. The squawking of lorikeets lancing the morning quiet; bacon and eggs sizzle on a hot griddle. Meeting old mates; shy and then friends again in a
Dear Reader, my name is Carolyn and I have been writing all sorts of short stories for my family and friends these many years. This is the first time I've exhibited any of my work, and do hope that you enjoy the reading experience. My partner is Gary Smith, photographer extraordinaire and sometime Publications Manager at Toyota.
heartbeat. Sinking bare feet into the cold lake depths; mud squishing between toes. Singalong's around a blazing campfire, drinking hot chocolate as our faces toast. Exploring bush tracks; the new cruiser is such a trailblazer. Torrential rain and our FJ40 slipping and sliding but never in doubt. Powering through a swiftly running creek, surefooted as the water foams over the wheels. The day when a Land Rover got bogged. Wheels spinning fruitlessly, rocking backwards and forwards spitting mud; hopelessly mired. Dad hooking the sorry thing up to our 4WD. A rushing, sucking squelch and out she pops; free. Four weeks, lasting forever, over in a moment. We spiral back around the Great Ocean Road, newspaper wrapped chips burning our lips. Traffic is stop start on the highway. Conversation stills as the stench of scorched earth insults the air. We pass endlessly through silent burnt sentinels. Nothing is stirring; dust and ashes. The sun, sickened and grey, surrenders to night. I weep hopelessly for the lost animals, their homes riven by ravening bushfire. Thirsty and tired we crest the hill and there's home. Gran throws open the door, bathing us in welcoming light. "I just love our Land Cruiser", I yell, blushing furiously as Dad laughs long and loud! Forty years later my heart still belongs to the Land Cruiser. We're off again. Gary and I, singing out of tune ~ in tune with each other ~ cruising in the Toyota way.
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Robert Smith Victoria
Carbon Supra, Photograph 2008, 42 x 60cm, $500
I consider the Toyota Supra the Mustang of my Generation. It was the first car I fell in love with and after owning my dream car, it became a catalyst for my experimentation into photography. I tend to find myself experimenting with contrasts between light and shade more often than not, and strive to achieve a surreal and dramatic quality with all my work. I consider photography to be more than capturing
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a moment in time, but also capturing the emotion of the moment. This photo of my Supra was created with a technique called light painting, which is taken in the dark by using a long exposure and highlighting aspects of the form with a singular light source; literally painting the scene. The effect has a surreal quality which makes it often hard to believe it is a single exposure and not some form of computer manipulation.
I consider the Toyota Supra the Mustang of my Generation ...�
Robert has been pursuing photography since he became interested and bought a camera a couple of years ago; perhaps inspired by his father Gary, who works for Toyota and is also a keen photographer. This is his second exhibition in Toyota Community Spirit Gallery and his second opportunity to show his work in public.
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Geoff Todd Victoria
Geoff had his first solo exhibition in 1969 at the age of 18 and established himself as a serious young artist. He crossed Australia to Arnhem Land where he worked with traditional Aboriginal people. From here he travelled regularly to Indonesia where he found a society committed to religion, festival and art, an ideal environment for an artist inspired by humanity and culture. His work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and numerous regional galleries and private collections throughout Australia, the United States, Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore.
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Over a decade of driving all over Arnhem Land and the Top End with many trips to Melbourne and Sydney EVERY YEAR, it meant we clocked up around 800,000kms ...”
TOJO, Mixed media on wood 2009, 70 x 60cm, $2750
It was 1984 when we drowned our new Nissan in the Liverpool River deep in Arhnem Land where we lived and worked at the time. After a trip to Darwin (in those days, 14 hours 4WD each way, or longer, depending on how many times bogged), we returned proudly with our new but obviously well used and well loved Toyota FJ40 Diesel Short Wheel Base, sporting a BJ40 radiator grill. Over a decade of driving all over Arnhem Land and the Top End with many trips to Melbourne and Sydney EVERY YEAR, it meant we clocked up around 800,000kms and we knew not how many times the odometer had turned over before we bought the Battered Beast! To be sure it has clocked the 1,000,000kms with it’s new owner. This painting, which is essentially made from pieces of our past, reflects those days and puts the old Toyota where it belongs – on Top! me and my TOYOTA 75
Anna Tow New South Wales
Family Holidays, Gouache on paper 2009, 72 x 82cm, NFS
As a child my family and I travelled in our dependable Toyota car to different places throughout Eastern Australia. This painting, Family Holidays is a collection of images taken from family holiday photos and images inspired by my fond memories of these special outings. Just as the traditional souvenir tea towel is covered with colourful illustrations of local landmarks, the images in Family Holidays represent my family holiday history, or ‘family landmarks’ and the Toyota cars my family travel in, up to the present day, as well as some of our favourite Australian fauna and flora.
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... I travelled in our dependable Toyota car to different places throughout Eastern Australia.”
Anna is a Sydney based painter, illustrator and digital media animator. Her digital media projects have been screened in major film festivals where they have received a number of awards. Anna paints and illustrates for exhibition and commission.
76 me and my TOYOTA
Chloe Vallance Victoria
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My work is personal, peaceful, and playful, based around sequencing imagery to allude to narration. I am interested in exploring the importance of place in relation to intimate experiences of human interaction, a moment at a time. Developed from observation and photographs of family and friends, my work explores the simplicity of intimacy experienced by a solitary figure through small scale drawings and paintings.
Minna with Papa’s Toyota Colour pencil on paper 2009, 17 x 17cm, $150
Chloe is an emerging visual artist who has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art), Drawing at RMIT University, and is currently completing her Honours. Since 2007 she has exhibited three solo shows in Melbourne and her work has been selected for several art prizes and group exhibitions including the Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, The Phillips House of Fine Art Drawing Prize and the 2008 Public Art Exhibition held at the Monash Centre in Prato, Italy. One of five winners of the Siemens RMIT Fine Art Undergraduate travel scholarships for 2007, Chloe used her prize to participate in the RMIT New York Study Tour in December 2008.
me and my TOYOTA 77
Jannette van Eck Toyota Employee, New South Wales
Kluger Bush Art, Photograph 2009, NFS
This is my first ever entry in a photo competition! Digital photography has really changed the way I now take photos. It has made photography so much more interesting. I love my camera and I always look for a different and interesting angle to frame my photos. This image is of perfect dusty fern leaf imprints left behind on our Kluger bumper after a 4x4 drive in the Victorian High Country. Jannette has worked with Toyota in Franchise Development since 2001 and is currently the National Franchise Planning Coordinator responsible for the management of Toyota Dealer Agreements.
78 me and my TOYOTA
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This image is of perfect dusty fern leaf imprints left behind on our Kluger bumper ...�
Phi Van Nguyen Toyota Employee, Victoria
This art work is about defining the word “TOYOTA” and suggesting the meaning of what it stands for.
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...Toyota will continue to dominate its number one position in the automotive world.”
I strive to push the future and dynamic sides of Toyota by creating a print based advertisement for Toyota and it’s future branding. The layout contains a graph of the market that has a series of lines that represent other competitors in the automotive industries. Toyota is the red line which sits above its competitors, clarifying that Toyota will continue to dominate its number one position in the automotive world.
TOYOTA, Digital media 2009, 42 x 30cm, $750
Phi began work for Toyota at Altona in 2005 in the Body Shop where he worked for three years until he transferred recently to Assembly. He has always been interested in designing, whether a logo, paintings, or video and has been creating artworks for over nine years. In 2004 he completed a Bachelor of Design in Multimedia Design at Monash University, Caulfield. This year he was a finalist in the Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize.
me and my TOYOTA 79
Liz Walker Victoria
“ Toyota is for everyone Found and recycled materials 2009, 62x58x35cm, $750
Liz completed a Diploma of Visual Arts at RMIT in 2004, going on to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006 and Masters, also at RMIT in 2008. Using recycled materials and objects, often in conjunction with text and the painted portrait, her work is an investigation into the reuse and conversion of materials.Her practice centres on the exploration of social and political issues in relation to domestic items, found materials, our everyday environment and the people in it. In 2005 Liz won the Artholes self portrait prize, The Area Contemporary Art Space Prize in 2006 and the CSA Barnes Prize in 2007.
80 me and my TOYOTA
Farmers, builders, Mums and Dads, kids, artists, cyclists, footballers, bankers, carers, gardeners, mechanics, fishermen, shopkeepers, teachers, doctors, nurses, scientists, movie makers and more. Toyota is for everyone.�
Louise Willis New South Wales
My Road Trip by Louise Willis
I have just returned from a three week road trip with my 18 month old Toyota Yaris. It was a journey of self discovery for me and it has always been a dream of mine to have a great car to do a road trip. There were so many wonderful things to discover during this time about both myself and my car. Together we travelled 3500km on bends, curves, freeways, cities and country roads. All of which was a wonder to experience for both me and my Yaris which took it all on with ease. As this is the first car I have owned, it was also a great time for a million memories to be created and for us to develop our “bond” as owner and driver. I am sure there will now be so many more wonderful opportunities for me and my Toyota to explore and am looking forward to them with enthusiasm. My road trip has sparked a further zest for life starting with a move to Victoria at the end of 2009! Louise has lived in Newcastle most of her life. Having had a taste of the wider Australia she is ready to explore and expand her experiences in all aspects of life.
s Yari my
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Together we travelled 3500km on bends, curves, freeways, cities and country roads.”
me and my TOYOTA 81
Guy Willoughby Victoria
Expressway, Inkjet print on art paper 2008, 51 x 98cm, $600
Through my photography, I endeavour to impart new perspectives on the familiar. My images of recognisable subjects are lent a sense of the unheimlich through a specific use of light and post-production techniques. The result is an image that is at once aesthetic and evocative. This image explores how automotive engineering has profoundly influenced – and continues to influence - the ways in which humans both experience, and reshape, landscapes. The landscape in this photograph is at once real and imagined, reflecting the transformative relationship between people and transport.
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82 me and my TOYOTA
This image explores how automotive engineering has profoundly influenced – and continues to influence - the ways in which humans both experience, and reshape, landscapes.”
A Grand Dame by Emily Windon I first met Jacob in hospital. We were both young, highly medicated and drifting confusedly through life. We seemed to recognise something in each other and soon spent most of our available time together. When we were released from hospital within a week of each other we met up and moved into a room together at a local boarding house by the seaside. It was romantic in a way but we were too busy grasping with life out of hospital to enjoy the smell of sea breezes drifting over our starched linen sheets each morning. After a few weeks living in our room, we decided on a whim to go to Queensland. Not having a car, we caught a coach from central station and two days later arrived in the Far North with swollen ankles, no possessions and an exhilarating sense of freedom. We felt in love, we had each other and we were on a journey to somewhere. Finally life seemed to have a purpose, even if we weren’t quite sure what it was. We spent about six months in Queensland, getting our lives on track. It was like an internship into regular society. I had been overweight and the combination of having to bike ride 40 minutes to my cleaning job twice a day, along with the excessive sweat brought about by the Far Norths’ blanketing heat, meant that I quickly shed extra weight. I detoxed myself, taking down my medication amounts until I was on none. Slowly I began to feel like an (almost) everyday person, although my time in hospitals seemed to permanently mark me, in my own eyes, perhaps, as slightly wacky. Finally, after six months and much reinventing of ourselves, we decided to move to the cooler climate of Melbourne. This time, we had a suitcase of belongings each. In Melbourne, we began once more in a boarding house in Carlton but quickly emigrated to the leafy burbs of Coburg. We had found a beautiful house to lease there. It was old, roomy and slightly wacky, just like us. Our neighbours were all family people and the street was often full of the little voices of children going about their days. We didn't have a lot to do with our neighbours because we felt marked by what was our self-imposed stigma of hospital. Still, the normal routines of family life influenced us and we quickly wanted to take on some of the symbols of family. Children were out of the question – we had thankfully recognised we were not up to the responsibility of small lives. To compensate, I had my childhood pet dog Percy shipped from home. Yet there was still something
Emily Windon Tasmania
missing. A car seemed the crucial ingredient we needed in our quest for full social acceptance, via that true ideal – the suburban couple. Money saving was not our best factor, due to the discrepancy between outgoings (meagre) and incomings (more meagre). I had returned to study to do my Year 12 and Jacob was making small change from collecting and re-selling scrap metal. We wanted a car badly but it seemed so out of reach. That was however, until my father offered to lend us $1000. The news was so exciting. We had been scouring the newspapers and car yards for long enough to know that $1000 would get us all we needed – four wheels and a working motor and rego. We hit the streets that weekend, paper in hand and a pocket of 20c pieces for the phone. By the end of the day we were driving off in our very own car – a 1975 Toyota Corolla sedan. This car was a gift from above. It was both real and symbolic freedom. It marked our passage from marooned to grounded. In it we drove all over Victoria each weekend and during the week it took me to and from TAFE. It drove tightly, humming along the road and only slightly complaining when we went above 80kmh. And it looked like a dame. It was bright yellow with fawn coloured interior. When you opened the door you were hit with that wonderful and unforgettable smell of vinyl seating. Immediately upon sitting in the car I was transported to my childhood days of camping trips and long, long drives. Only in my Corolla, I was the driver, the director of events. I have a photo of myself from that time. My father had wanted to take a photograph and I had told him to wait so I could gather the family. Looking from the picture is myself and Jacob. I am holding Percy and we are all proudly resting on our car. Our beautiful, beloved, Grand Dame Toyota Corolla 1975 sedan. Many years later the car has changed hands, I have four children and a different partner, and my pet Percy has passed to the big garden in the sky. I would say I am now a fully-fledged member of society although I am still a little wacky. Those years of finding my feet in the world were a joy for their simple discoveries of life and people, experiences that have shaped me into who I am now. And the symbol of that time for me is my Corolla, my first and most cherished car. This is a true story, Jacob is not this persons real name.
me and my TOYOTA 83
Neil Woolmer New South Wales
Outback Australia with Toyota 2009, Oil on canvas, 28 x 33cm, NFS
I have been driving Toyota’s for the last 10 years. More recently I have been pursuing my interest in art and have been receiving art lessons from artist Jane Skye who helped me with this, my first painting in oil. The image was taken from Malcolm Douglas' web-site and adjusted to suit this competition. Malcolm in my view represents the real Aussie outback adventurer; he has used a Toyota four wheel drive for his adventures. In so doing, he needed a car he could trust with his life as help would have been far away if in trouble. I guess for me this represents Toyota’s famous reliability in the worst conditions Australia has to offer.
84 me and my TOYOTA
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... this represents Toyota’s famous reliability in the worst conditions Australia has to offer ...”
Valma Wroblewski
Victoria
Fishing in Kakadu, Oil on canvas 2009, 90 x 90cm, POA
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I started painting with oils on canvas in January 2007 as a form of relaxation and it grew from there. I’m mainly self taught, although I’ve taken some classes along the way in the last few years to broaden my skills. My daughter Donna works with Toyota and this is my third exhibition for the Toyota Spirit Gallery. ” me and my TOYOTA 85
Veronika Zeil Queensland
Me a nd My Toyota Sitting and staring in the open glove box revealed nothing but hot air, however trips out to check dams and fences were exciting adventures, a taste of a foreign land, in a hot sticky cabin of a Toyota Trayback. The cabin was filled with love, lust, promises, dreams, hopes and happiness.
It all started with a last try to catch a lift before dark, scrambling up to the roadside to hitch a ride. The vehicle slowed and stopped to accommodate me and the backpack. Little did I know that my life would be intimately entwined with this Toyota, its splitting plastic seats, the leak in the roof and of course its driver. Later the same Toyota was our main means of transport and our first family member a little stray dog. On a trip to North of Queensland we got caught in a cyclone. Monsoonal rain was leaking through the little hole in the roof exposing our pet between us to hours of Chinese water torture, as we travelled through a sea of flood water. The cabin of the trayback often served as a cage to wild life rescued from the road side and out of felled trees on the property. Kangaroo rats, a stunned Pelican, brightly coloured parrots, feisty Kingfishers and many more hurting or dying creatures were transported, medicated and shuttled back for release. Our pet cockatoo loved clinging to the head board of the tray, simulating flight manoeuvres while spreading his crippled wings, screeching like a maniac. Short Toyota trips from the shed
by Veronika Zeil
to the bulldozer became daring adventures of the air allowing his testosterone levels to rise. He became an aggressor, fighting off intruders to the ute tray. You had to be cunning to reach any tools! The Toyota was cradle to all the children who were rattled to sleep daily on their mattress stuffed between seat and dash. Tummy complaints and unexplained tears were resolved by rattling over miles and miles of country roads. The cabin was witness to first words, echoed with songs and was filled with deep or meaningless conversations with family and friends. Loyal, excitable and useless working dogs enjoyed their rides on the tray. Only the dozer driver’s great big white pig dog, Joe, got to ride in the cabin. However, Joe was easily bored and managed to chew the glossy black knob off the gear stick one day. He was never forgotten! There were endless repairs, too many flat tyres to count and a broken axle sent us crashing through a fence. Countless hours were spent delivering feed to cattle through the droughts, while trips on flooded roads became rare. Up mountains and down valleys we unravelled hundreds of coils of barb wire for fences. The trayback felt as comfortable as an old friend while it was going and as foreign as a complete stranger when it broke down. It was workhorse, save house, ambulance, fire truck, board room, theatre and tour bus. We tackled life - me and my Toyota.
Veronika is a visual artist and writer based in Rockhampton. Her work focusses on the fauna and flora, rural lifestyle and natural environment of Central Queensland. She loves the process of collecting materials, images and ideas outdoors,which she refines into finished works.The process allows her to reflect on and express her view on our country, culture and lifestyle. “My connection to Toyota is through owning a couple of these vehicles. To me they become part of the family as we spend excessive amounts of time in these 4WDs between home and school, property and camping holidays. They are full of stories and family drama and hilarity (as well as dog hair).”
86 me and my TOYOTA
Paul Zivanovic Victoria
Family Holidays with our Toyotas, Acrylic on canvas 2009, 50 x 60cm, POA
I am married with two children and a registered psychiatric nurse but approximately nine months ago, I decided to put some spare time into taking up my long held
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My brother in law is an employee at Toyota and he encouraged me to reflect in a painting our many happy years with our Toyota's ...”
ambition to paint. My brother in law is an employee at Toyota and he encouraged me to reflect in a painting our many happy years with our Toyotas for this exhibition. The work depicts just a small part of the great times our family had in the 80’s on the Mornington Peninsula. We all have fond recollections of loading up the Lite Ace and having a ball, although the children did have some concerns about the bright orange colour of “Lite –Ace”, preferring to travel with Mum in the Corona.
me and my TOYOTA 87
" .. I travelled in our dependable Toyota car to different places throughout Eastern Australia.”
"I consider the Toyota Supra the Mustang of my Generation ...”
"Celicas – sleek and sharp – invaded our wide brown land decades ago.”
... my Toyota is reliable, tough and adaptable, flexible, dependable ...”
"The first car I ever owned was a 1972 Toyota Corona, affectionately known as ‘Clive’.”
"I lived in a 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser who was called Lily. ”
"In 1959, his Grandfather, Dick Issac, established Albion Motors Kyabram ...”
"Our two Toyota 4WD’s, a Prado and a Landcruiser, enable us to access this diverse country.”
There are more 4WD Toyota 'Troopies' and Ravs per square kilometre than kangaroos.”
"For all of us, Keet and the Toyota Crown symbolised a new beginning.””
"... this represents Toyota’s famous reliability in the worst conditions Australia has to offer ...”
"... it wasn’t so surprising that I would go on to do an apprenticeship at Toyota as a fitter and turner.”