‘Freedom’ – Bronwyn Bancroft – the bid is at $250

Bronwyn grew up the youngest of seven children, in a small town and with little external distraction. She often spent her time immersed in the natural landscape.

‘I could sit for hours on a rock and be mesmerised by the reflections on the water, or the blue dragonflies dancing or the bright sun filtering through the elevated canopy…These early impressions have stayed with me all my life and have opened my imagination to a world of beauty.’

From this childhood fascination with colour, shape and movement I can see Bronwyn’s artwork situate itself within the broader context of the Australian landscape. She always sees what she wants to paint before she picks up her medium. Bronwyn can be seen working with acrylics, and most often on a large scale. She has built up many ways of articulating her shapes on a page with her own mark making techniques. Once on the canvas or page her work is characterised by mesmerising and complex patterns, organic formations and a spectacle of colours. These artworks have an inbuilt sense of movement indicated by the varied patterns and speak to a deep knowledge and understanding of country passed down through generations of people. Bronwyn’s geometric and contrasting colours are reminiscent of Kandinsky, whom she references as a major influence for her:

‘I was enraptured by the mathematical meanderings of Kandinsky’s delightful mind. His creations spoke to me – not with words – but with paintings that floated like a symphony of light and colour, shapes, juxtapositions that collided in extraordinary mathematical compositions.’

This painting above is called Meet me at Mountain.

Something about Bronwyn’s work brings to mind the multiplicity of colours and shapes we cannot interact with through the five basic senses at our disposal. These mostly limit us to one version of the world. Bronwyn’s creations seem to peer through this illusion and access multiple planes of perception and understanding. Books like ‘Patterns of Australia’, ‘The Art In Animals’, ‘Coming Home to country’ are a few magical examples of this phenomenon.

Bronwyn’s artistry is largely inspired by the intrinsic urge to explore and share her heritage and love for the surrounding natural world. In accordance with a favourite saying of hers, Bronwyn has lived many lives:

‘If you only have one life, live three.’

For Bronwyn, art is an unavoidable force in her life, she creates because it is an innate part of her and so she must. She has created shimmering, sequinned, hand painted garments, written and illustrated over 48 books extolling the beauty and intricacy of the Australian landscape and its inhabitants whilst tirelessly advocating for Australian Indigenous artists.

As part of her advocacy Bronwyn works with numerous organisations providing her expertise as an artist and activist. One of her dearest pursuits is as one of the founding member of the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative (est. 1987). She has been the Co-operative’s volunteer senior strategist since 2009. Much of this work revolves around creating space and support for indigenous artists to showcase their work as well as to be fairly compensated. Bronwyn is passionate about artists rights especially relating to copyright.

In interviews Bronwyn often emphasises the importance of creating for oneself and not letting outside influences lead one to stray from from their own artistic journey. Bronwyn has always been careful not to seek fame, feeling it dangerous for one’s authentic practice to become desirous of praise. Praise, even more so than negative judgement, can become a brightly coloured lure beckoning the naive artist from their honest path. Bronwyn summarises this dual need for a platform as an Indigenous artist within the universal artist’s cry for independent creativity, left unadulterated by public fancy:

‘I don’t want to be public property, I just want to be able to participate.’

Throughout several decades Bronwyn has painstakingly created the space where she can devote the majority of her time to her art and freely say ‘no’ to pursuits that do not serve the ideals she strives to uphold.

Aside from personal expression, art is part of a great educational tradition, particularly in relation to Bronwyn’s Bundjalung heritage. For Bronwyn art is a natural vessel for knowledge through which she hopes to promote interest and understanding of Indigenous histories paired with a respect and appreciation for one’s native environment. Throughout her career she has remained dedicated to educating and creating change through art.

‘Similar to my father, I have always maintained that education and access to it is an equaliser.’

To learn more about Bronwyn and her art and other activities, visit her website at https://www.bronwynbancroft.com/artworks

Bronwyn has asked me to put a reserve on her piece. I will show the bids and let those who bid know if they reach her reserve.

by Adelaide Stolba