RHYS THOMAS
WORKS from Kuranda-based First Nations artist Connie Rovina have found their way into the hands of collectors and aesthetes across the world including in New Zealand, with a couple recently visiting the gallery and Connie in Kuranda to pick up their commissioned artwork.
With a Cape York and Central Queensland Indigenous background, Connie lets her proud and rich ancestral heritage seep through to her various artworks displayed in her Kuranda Gallery, Widiworks Aboriginal Art Gallery, as she takes inspiration from the traditional outback lands of her Kuku-Thaypan grandmother and her Widi/Birriah grandfather.
Connie’s artistic journey began at a young age after her uncle taught her how to paint on boomerangs, this spurred Connie’s artistic talents and passion and pushed her to begin a professional painting career starting at Queensland Aboriginal Creations in Brisbane and the Indigenous Pavilion at Expo 88.
Connie incorporates various colours including traditional ochre tones to multicoloured palettes inspired by the landscapes from the inland bush to the sea.
Her artwork often features abstract representations of Aboriginal life as well as animal figures that draw from the teachings passed down from her family – the rich tapestry of her art style and the narratives she weaves on canvas are influenced by her older family members who passed their artistic wisdom down.
Connie said it was an incredibly humbling experience to have people from such different cultures and backgrounds appreciate her artwork and the culture they represent.
Connie’s custom artworks have been commissioned by aesthetes from across the globe including in Russia, the Netherlands, France, Singapore and now New Zealand.
“I’ve had people commissioning my art since I opened my gallery but to have people from different countries want to have a custom artwork of mine is still an amazing feeling,” she said.
Connie said many international visitors often stumble into her gallery by accident and nearly always leave with a piece after hearing about the rich culture and history behind every brushstroke.
“A lot of people believe that Indigenous art is just dot painting when it’s much more than that, I get to explain that my art is the First Nations art often seen in regional Queensland,” she said.
“When people come into the gallery, they get to hear about the history and stories that make up my paintings and they comment on how fresh and colourful they are.”
Connie incorporates various colours including traditional ochre tones to multicoloured palettes inspired by the landscapes from the inland bush to the sea.
Her artwork often features abstract representations of Aboriginal life as well as animal figures that draw from the teachings passed down from her family – the rich tapestry of her art style and the narratives she weaves on canvas are influenced by her older family members who passed their artistic wisdom down.
“I feel extremely honoured that people from hundreds of thousands of kilometres away feel such a connection with my art that they want a custom piece from me to display in their homes,” Connie said.
Widiworks Aboriginal Art Gallery is located at shop 6/13 Therwine Street Kuranda.
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