Adriana Seserko | Ye olde Swan
Ye olde Swan 2021
Mixed media on paper
Unframed- 56 x 44 cm
Framed- 66.6 x 54.6 cm
Early colonisation in Australia tells a grisly and heartbreaking tale of abuse, oppression, and immense suffering. It too reveals the perpetuation of environmental degradation that began with the early settlers. The treatment of the indigenous population by the first English colonisers was horrific and shameful. Demeaned, aboriginal families and furthermore their communities were deliberately dismantled. The land that they loved for thousands of years was stolen, only to become the property of white man. They further suffered as many became ill and perished from diseases such as measles, smallpox, and influenza that was bought into the country from foreign lands. Their children were later forcibly removed due to new assimilation laws.
Early European settlement too forever changed the Australian natural landscape. Over clearing of the bush for agriculture, the introduction of non native flora and fauna, and mining first altered Australia's landscape, impacting on biodiversity and fragile ecosystems. Soil health deteriorated and erosion further degraded the landscape. Today the environmental destruction continues. Poor land management has brought on record breaking droughts and disappearing waterways. Wildfires ravage our already ailing bush. Highways stretch across the country and claim the lives of native wildlife daily. Species have become extinct and others are on the cusp of oblivion. Sprawling cities dominate the horizon and claim more land with their ever widening borders. Monumental amounts of waste consisting of plastic pollute our lands, waterways, and oceans. What a mess we have made of things. How our indigenous population must weep to see the extent of the destruction wrought upon the land they cherish and love. As highly spiritual people with a profound connection to land and nature, they have treated the natural environment with solicitude and respect. Graceful, the Australian black swan and the surrounding environment represents the Aboriginal people and their connection to, and reverence for, nature. We could learn much from our nations first people, if only we would listen.
$4300
Adriana Seserko
Born: 1990
Adriana has been painting most of her life. Her attention to the finer detail gives her the ability to create beautifully rendered masterpieces.
Her works often engage the viewer with a moral value, she believes strongly in the preservation of our planet and painting provides her with an instrument in which her views can be expressed to the greater community
