Shane Smithers | Where Sky Meets Earth | SOLD
Where Sky Meets Earth
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
100 x 200 cm
SOLD
The windswept clouds set against a dusty sky are here hidden behind a veil of vertical white lines. The difference in thickness and intensity of those white lines tells of varying connections in time, and place. The vertical lines represent rain, lightening or sky, but here show the connection between the mountain and the sky father, the giver of Aboriginal Lore. Biari is very important figure as he is the father of all. He brings the wind, the wind brings clouds and rain and with rain, together the sky and earth bring forth life.
The Earth, Wiari (the Mother of all) is here represented by red horizontal lines, twitching and moving like the strata affected by plate tectonic shift. The red concentric circles represent the many levels of culture all underpinned by Lore, the radiating lines showing connection between every aspect of the natural and cultural universe, including the sky and the earth.
This painting is about the dynamic nature of Sky and Earth, and how life happens at the nexus of their connection.
Finalist in Mosman Art Prize
Shane Smithers Biography
Shane Smithers is a Darug man of the Burraberongal clan. His traditional country extends along the Hawkesbury river and extends inland to the top of the Blue Mountains. Shane is an academic with Macquarie University and holds a PhD in Philosophy, and is currently studying for a DCA at UTS. Additionally he is an artist, he paints, carves and sculpts in a range of materials. He uses traditional Aboriginal symbols and designs in a contemporary style, to tell both ancient and modern stories through his works. The patterns and figures used throughout his work are traditional to the Darug people. Shane uses patterns and symbols to tell intricate stories.
