Summary

"Ultimately my work centres in on 'journey' and 'connection'. It has always challenged where I come from, where we come from, where we go next", Arone Meeks explains. "It's like reading a story book and getting to chapter 13..... suddenly a new character enters and things change forever! Everything has a whole new perspective."

Arone's final major artwork, Evidence defines both old journeys and new paths. Punctuated by an intense ultramarine the work draws as much on his heritage and narratives as a Kuku Midiji man from Cape York, as his ongoing personal quest of discovery – a quest often represented by his ubiquitous boat, navigated by the stars and a vessel for everyone that has gone before and all that come after.

In the same vein Arone explains, "In addressing these issues 'head on', the painting is both a landscape as portrait, and portrait as landscape. Often I like the portraits to have a fetish quality - a figure not only wearing but becoming the elements that formed them."

Arone owes this concept to a period living with the First Nations people of New Mexico while on a residency in Santa Fe that introduced him to his hallmark monoprint technique. Talismans and fetish jewellery representing spirit animals were crafted from semi-precious stones, notably turquoise. The power of the stones offered protection and connection to the spirit world, dreamtime.

The portrait/landscape also draws on Fred William's observations of the landscape looking back at the viewer. The perception of country to most Indigenous peoples is that of ceremony, religion and a connected oneness."

Addressing issues regarding health, sexuality, deaths in custody and infant mortality, Evidence continues Arone's ongoing concern for sustaining Country and culture while celebrating the role women play in perpetuating change. The boat, as a conduit towards new direction, represents an optimistic path towards cultural empowerment and growth.