WADAWURRUNG emerging elder Dr Deanne Gilson is one of eighty-nine finalists in the prestigious Blake Art Prize.<\/p>\n
The competition has encouraged Australian and international artists to explore spiritual and religious ideas through visual art for seven decades.<\/p>\n
Gilson said she has applied multiple times in the last 15 years, but has seen success this time with her ochre, acrylic and wattle tree sap painting on linen, Karringalabil Bundjil Murrup, Manna Gum Tree<\/em>.<\/p>\n The 90-centimetre by 100-centimetre piece was painted earlier this year and tells the Victorian First Nations story of the creation tree of knowledge.<\/p>\n \u201cBunjil the Eagle created the first man and woman out of clay and it\u2019s based around the manna gum tree; a birthing tree,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the birds of creation that helped Bunjil are captured in the painting on the tree. It\u2019s our story.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about connection to country, plants, animals, caring for country, everyone and everything that lives on country. If country\u2019s healthy, we\u2019re healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n Gilson said the Blake received 1200 entries in 2020, and always attracts the country\u2019s elite painting crowd, including Archibald Prize contenders.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know too many people from regional Victoria that have ever been in the Blake. The judges really liked my work, I couldn\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been a practicing artist for 35 years, but I never gave up. If you don\u2019t give up, opportunities come. It\u2019s a nice thing for the CV, especially because the work is based in Aboriginal spirituality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy PhD was on Aboriginal women\u2019s business, looking at how traditional marks and practices can be used today to create contemporary artworks that link to ceremony, healing and the continuation of cultural knowledge today.\u201d<\/p>\n Blake Art Prize winners will be announced during the opening of the exhibition on Saturday, 13 February at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney. The show runs until April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WADAWURRUNG emerging elder Dr Deanne Gilson is one of eighty-nine finalists in the prestigious Blake Art Prize. The competition has encouraged Australian and international artists to explore spiritual and religious ideas through visual art for seven decades. Gilson said she has applied multiple times in the last 15 years, but has seen success this time […]<\/p>\n