Lilla WATSON
artist
Lilla Watson
is a Murri woman who grew up mainly in Central Queensland, and
identifies strongly with her Mother's Mother's Gangulu country in that
area.
Since moving to Brisbane in the late 1960's, she and other members of
her family have become well known through their involvement in the
Indigenous community. Lilla worked at the University of Queensland
for ten years, the last six as Lecturer in Aboriginal Welfare Studies.
Since leaving there in 1991, she has developed a highly innovative
medium for the portrayal and projection of aspects of her spiritual and
cultural identity. Holes are simply burned in paper, and scorch and
smoke marks controlled to heighten tones and contrast. For some
works, smaller holes are burned through a second and even a third layer
of paper sometimes of a different colour. The complementary colour or
colours of the backing boards also contribute to the overall effect.
The theme of these `burnings´ reflect an indigenous perception of the
relationship between this land and its Indigenous Peoples. They
include male, female and spirit figures: the gathering of food and
implements; ceremonial and learning processes; stories of native
animals of the land, rivers, sea and air. Patterns of the Brigalow
scrub of her Mother's Mother's country recur, including an ants' eyes
view, looking up through roots and foliage from beneath the ground.
Her first solo exhibition of 35 works in Brisbane (November 1993) was
self-organised. Since then, she has had solo exhibitions at the
Alcaston House Gallery, Collins St., Melbourne, (1994): three at
Marlene Antico Fine Arts Gallery, Paddington (1997, 1998 and 2000); and
most recently at Michel Sourgnes Fine Arts Gallery, Brisbane
(March--April 8 2003).
In addition, she has exhibited in a number of joint exhibitions in
Australia, and 10 works in the Dreamings Exhibition in Arnhem,
Netherlands, mid-1997. Four works have appeared on book and magazine
covers, and on a poster for the Queensland Health Rights Commission.
The Queensland Arts Council purchased an early work for their
collection, and used it on the cover of their 1994 Touring Exhibitions
Directory. The Council subsequently asked Lilla to provide a series
of 19 works for a Touring Exhibition, My Freshwater Country,
for late 1995-96. Due to demand, this Exhibition continued to tour until
June 1998.
In 2002, a commissioned work, Keepers of the Fire,
was translated into pavement art in the new Roma St. Parklands, Brisbane.
May 2003
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