This painting titled Emu Dreaming (Where has my beautiful home gone), acrylic on canvas, was painted in 2007. You can see the fence posts in the painting and the barren landscape behind the figure in the front. The impact of the farming revolution in Australia is clearly evident here, as is the artists negative view of its effects on his world.
I really like the humanoid character in the foreground, its wavy etherial limbs and seemingly hermaphroditic form remind me of the aliens from the x files. The colors and landscape remind me of a clear blue day in montana, the emu does not. I like this artists work, you can see some of his other paintings at the address below.
This accompanied the painting on the artists website:
Aboriginal Story: Emu Dreaming,
Emu had been sent out by our creator to explore the land. During this time Emu had a family that spread to many different parts of the land. The Mother Emu would come back together with other mothers and discuss issues about he country. They know they are all safe in Emu country for her husband Red Kangaroo is the lore man.
http://www.waynekrause.com/
Wayne Krause was born in Hillston, Australia in 1969. He grew up in a tiny town called Merriwagga with a population of only around 80 people. Waynes family was the only aboriginal one in the village, the nearest living aboriginal family was about 27 miles away. He learned about his peoples culture and heritage from his grandmother but got his initial inspiration to draw from comic books. His inspirations for his modern fusion of aboriginal art and modern art styles come from his peoples history and the world around him. While his art is influenced by western styles I still consider it to be a standalone mostly because of the subject matter. Much of his painting deals with the clash between the ancient australian land and the outside forces that shape that world today, particularly the British colonization of the country and the agricultural exploitation and destruction of the environment.
March 31, 2010 at 2:16 pm |
What a captivating painting! It is unique without being too “out there”. I am not sure what it is trying to portray, but I feel like it is a beautiful warm day with a light breeze and I am watching a emu in a dry field. Learning about the background that you explained helped me see it from the painters perspective. What is the story with the hermaphroditic form? Is there a reason he painted that in there?