Brian Robinson – when art and public worlds collide

As an artist Brian Robinson is amongst the most innovative of his generation. Robinson’s artistic career has traced a highly individual path. The success of his artwork in the studio and in the public art realm, has been influenced by his ten years working as a curator and arts administrator, and he believes that this, “does assist me with the development of work”.

His work observes the traditions and styles of the Torres Strait, but also the influence of Western art history and wide-ranging graphic traditions. Ever since he was a boy – sitting in a Catholic church, looking around at the biblical narratives – an interest in the Western art historical tradition has driven his aesthetic explorations. “I’ve found my way into an interesting place from those biblical creation stories.”

Colour, shape and movement, together with influences as varied as comics, toys and popular culture, are visible. He has, he suggested, “a weird and wonderful imagination… I’m just a big kid really. I’ve always had a fascination with comics, and books in general.”

While best known perhaps for his highly coloured, exuberant wall sculptures, that include motifs from floral blooms, surf board shapes, turtles and classic art historical forms, most recently he is represented in the influential exhibition of contemporary Queensland art, GOMA Q (Gallery of Modern Art), with a more sombre and contemplative wall piece.

Robinson’s XXIIIVIIIMCMLXXIIIXVIIVLLMCMVLI (when worlds collide), 2012, a wall work some 15 metres in width, occupies a single wall in a room which also includes Vernon Ah Kee’s vehemently political surf board installation titled acontentedslave (2012) and moody landscapes by senior Queensland painter Gordon Shepherdson. In this esteemed company, Robinson’s (when worlds collide) brings together a multiplicity of influences in its form and concept. Beginning on the left with over-sized Lego bricks, it morphs into a family totem (a taimer) and then a twisting, swirling minaral, tracing a trajectory – from the manufactured to the traditional and organic – in its journey across the wall. These disparate elements are united by their black colour and surface, pitted with pins of white that read like stars in the night sky, a treatment that speaks to the constellations that have lit the journeys of the Zenadh Kes Islanders and the Adhay in the islands.

In recent years it is Robinson’s public art practice that has brought him mainstream attention. A commission for Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in 2014 has resulted in carved concrete discs celebrating the importance of the turtle (Warual) in the western Torres Strait, permanently ensconced in the entry. Later in 2014, Kolap Spinning Tops was created for the Saylor Family Park in Western Australia. Two of the playful spinning tops feature Torres Strait Island motifs, while the third includes a cockle shell design, developed in consultation with local Aboriginal artists and Traditional Owners in Roebourne. Other major commissions – in Mackay, Toowoomba and Brisbane are also underway with a major concept in competition in Perth.

What remains constant in Robinson’s practice is his insistence on being not seen solely as an indigenous artist, given his broad aesthetic influences. He says, “I’m a true artist in the sense that I absorb from the entire spectrum. I am interested in really minute detail but also large buildings and architecture. I draw on mythology worldwide and make comparisons, parallels that cross over in all those different cultures.”

While this has drawn criticism at times for his less than purist approach, he said, “I love not being that typical ‘Indigenous’ artist. I have a wealth of experience, I travel a lot, and draw on everything for my creative practice. I have been smacked over the wrist on some occasions, when I look at a combination of elements that include those alien to the Torres Strait.” Yet he draws a distinction for himself based on his heritage which includes Malay and other influences, in addition to Torres Strait antecedents. And he noted that, in contrast to well-known artists from the Torres Strait (such as Dennis Nona and Alick Tipoti), a singularly based practice is less relevant for him. “A lot of those myths and legends are owned by particular islands and communities. I don’t physically sit in that traditional sort of society. My blood line is a mix from here there and everywhere. My art practice is driven by a love of creating, whereas others link to a strong cultural maintenance point of view.”

Cultural traditions do remain important however, and he observes protocols of respect and acknowledgement of local practices. At times he develops public art on Aboriginal land, and he noted the importance of research with local custodians, “to ground that piece back into the site”.

For Robinson, public art (as opposed to studio practice) offers privilege in its larger platform. “It offers an entry to a realm where everyone can comment, and one not boxed in by the usual white gallery walls.” While not every artist may seamlessly make the transition to public art, it is a genre that Robinson continues to find exhilarating and stimulating. “I’m happy to ride that roller coaster at the moment.” While his next ambitions include developing more international exposure, Robinson will, again this year, be a feature of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. Expect to see his work all over town.

Louise Martin-Chew, July 2015

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