Not many things convey the sentience of the land and ocean quite the same way as the large-scale black-and-white works by Australia’s pre-eminent First Nations printmaker Brian Robinson. Each is a star-dusted universe populated by an astonishingly detailed wildlife ecosystem and natural abundance. The works are visually exciting art-puzzles which audiences delight in analysing and de-coding; Torres Strait/Zenadh Kes totems and symbols, the spiritual and the physical, men and gods.
In Robinson’s world, time and space collapse; the confluence of Age-of-Enlightenment cartography and elaborate Zenadh Kes symbolism replete with Roman columns and video game vector graphics. It is a world vividly brought to life by an unlikely range of inhabitants. There are 18th Century naval expedition captains such as Cook and D’Urville, Zenadh Kes warriors, Lego astronauts and beloved Star Wars robots. There's Pac-man and Jules Verne’s giant squid.
The prevalence of explorers and voyages of ‘discovery,’ and their frequent juxtaposition with Robinson’s intricate Zenadth Kes and Pacific designs and beautifully observed renderings of flora and fauna is revealing. At the heart of Robinson’s work are questions about the authority and empiricism of Enlightenment and its ideals. His work encourages open-minded inquiry of Western narratives. Drawing upon his unbroken connection with one of the oldest living cultures in the world, his late-twentieth century childhood and hobbies, and boundless creative capacity, Robinson offers audiences an enriching understanding of Indigenous knowledge systems with a unique worldview.
Current: Brian Robinson will feature five ambitious linocuts, and vinyl prints by the artist. The exhibition will also bring together several new sculptures, which demonstrate the dynamism and evolution of this type of Zenadth Kes artmaking. It is a tradition rooted in history, culture, and lore and at the same time, as Robinson’s work shows, amongst the most innovative and compelling categories of contemporary sculpture.
Image: Brian Robinson, Terraqueous: On Stranger Tides 2024, vinyl cut, 100 x 200 cm. Image courtesy the artist and Mossenson Galleries © the artist
