1200º - Lyndy Delian

HUW DAVIES GALLERY 2–19 July 2009
 

 

Lyndy Delian is a remarkable artist in diverse media. A textile and glass artist, painter, writer and illustrator, she has now added photography to her creative repertoire. Lyndy is the second emerging Indigenous photographer supported by PhotoAccess with funding under the ACT component of the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy.

Lyndy’s 2009 NAIDOC Week exhibition 1200° has its roots in a Canberra Glassworks residency shared with other Indigenous artists and supported under the ACT Indigenous Strategic Arts Initiative. The exhibition includes images made in the course of the residency, showing artists at work in the exciting and pressured creative environment of the Canberra Glassworks hotshop. Through her images we share the exhilaration these artists experience in the heat of the furnace and the intricate demands of shaping molten glass. We are privileged to also show examples of Lyndy Delian’s work in glass, textile and paper prints and acrylics in this 2009 NAIDOC Week exhibition.

The diversity of Delian’s practice and the dimensions of her creative achievements are amply demonstrated by the recent exhibitions, commissions and awards listed in her biography. But not listed are the 42 exhibitions she participated in from 1999 to 2006. Lyndy is one of the busiest artists practicing in Canberra today, a tribute to her creativity and inquisitiveness, and the inspiration she draws from her culture. She is represented in the collections of the National Museum of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra Institute of Technology, and other public and private collections in Australia and overseas.

Like the Canberra Glassworks, PhotoAccess is participating in the ACT Indigenous Strategic Arts Initiative, in our case with two photo based projects in cooperation with Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation. These projects will culminate in a HUW DAVIES GALLERY exhibition next year. We acknowledge the farsightedness of the ACT Government in supporting Indigenous artists and allowing us to play a part in sharing their culture and unique perspectives with visitors to the Manuka Arts Centre.

We thank Neville O’Neill, ACT Indigenous Arts Officer, artsACT and the ACT Cultural Council for their assistance with this four-year emerging Indigenous photographer program. Ed Whalan and Barbie Robinson provided technical and creative support for this year’s project.

PhotoAccess is proud to present Lyndy Delian’s 1200°—a 2009 NAIDOC Week exhibition—in the HUW DAVIES GALLERY at the Manuka Arts Centre.

David Chalker
Director