Byron Bay Artists Join Forces For Climate Change Fundraiser…
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Recently named as one of the most influential women in the world, Cathy Freeman is an inspiration to all. Through her dedication in sport and her commitment to further reconciliation she has provided strength and hope in uniting all Australians.
Carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags during her victory lap at the 1994 Commonwealth Games demonstrated her love and pride of her heritage. Since then she has continued to pour her energy into helping others through the Cathy Freeman Foundation.
During her athletic career she accomplished so many great achievements, winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which is regarded by many as the greatest sporting event of our generation, and in 1998 was named Australian of the Year.
Craig Ruddy’s work is created using expressive splashes of acrylic across the back of toughened glass and archival inks on the surface. The glass is suspended above the canvas, allowing light to move through it.
‘I have admired her for such a long time and to meet her was a real honour,’ says Ruddy. ‘She has such a humble and down-to-earth charm. I really wanted to capture this along with her strength, determination and free-spirited nature.’
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Ruddy was inspired and motivated by Thornton’s raw, honest filmmaking after seeing Samson and Delilah. ‘Warwick’s strong social consciousness drives him to fearlessly tackle society’s darkest issues head on,’ he says. ‘In a dignified and sensitive manner he carries us deep into the belly of darkness yet holds up a lantern that leads us through to the light. His film gives a voice to a lost generation who find themselves at the end of a long dark tunnel.’
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In 2001, Craig Ruddy, a young artist from Northern NSW, quit his successful design career to pursue his passion for painting. Three years later, he shot to fame, winning one of Australia’s most prestigious art awards, the Archibald, for his inimitable portrait of renowned Aboriginal actor David Guptill.
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Of his 2006 Archibald work, Ruddy says:
“Reaction and peaceful observer. Raw honest expression and conformed expectations.”
We all create our own reality and we have choice with every breath we take to change that reality, though we are often controlled by old patterns and expectations of others and ourselves. Why do we expect everything to fit into safe little boxes that are recognisable and therefore accepted?
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Craig Ruddy’s powerful 2004 Archibald Prize winning portrait of actor David Gulpilil, with its intense, furrowed brow and piercing black eyes sparked a legal fight on the definition of the word ‘painting’.
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David Gulpilil is one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal actors. Born in Arnhem Land in 1953, he grew up as a member of the Mandalpingu tribe in the area his ancestors have inhabited for thousands of years. When he was 16 he was cast in the landmark Australian film Walkabout. Gulpilil has since achieved international fame in movies such as The last wave, Storm boy, Crocodile Dundee, Rabbit proof fence and The tracker. Between films he returns to Arnhem Land and his traditional lifestyle. His solo show Gulpilil, about his extraordinary life, premiered at the 2004 Adelaide Festival to rave reviews and will come to Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney in October.
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After my initial muse was unexpectedly summoned abroad in 2003, mid-way through painting her for my first attempt at the Archibald Prize, I took a chance and on a whim, ended up submitting a self-portrait instead.