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Closed: Reopening 30 May 2025

 Collection Highlights
Julie Dowling

Julie Dowling

The Elements: Wajjanoo (Fire), 2008


Julie Dowling

The Elements: Wajjanoo (Fire), 2008


Julie Dowling’s practice addresses the complexities of history, memory, politics and trauma. Her paintings acknowledge diverse artistic traditions while bringing her own unique approach to portrait painting, by capturing the hidden and untold stories of injustice and discrimination experienced by this country’s First Peoples. Julie Dowling’s work is both personal and political and her portraits bear witness to her family’s intergenerational experiences of racism and dispossession which extend to First Peoples across Australia.

Artist / Maker
Julie Dowling (1969)
Creation Date
2008
Collection
Michael Buxton Collection
Subjects
Art and Design - Paintings
Materials used
acrylic, polymer and ochre on canvas
Credit line
The University of Melbourne Art Collection, Michael Buxton Collection Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Michael and Janet Buxton 2018
Accession number
2018.231.055
Copyright
© Julie Dowling/Copyright Agency, 2025
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Other works in this series

A painting of a person with dark hair and skin, standing against a green patterned background. Their body contains landscapes and silhouetted figures, blending elements of water, sky, and land. Green spiral motifs appear on the background and figure.
A portrait of a person with brown skin, dark hair, and a serious expression. Their body is painted with white and brown bands featuring stylized plant motifs, standing against a swirling, earth-toned patterned background.
A painted portrait of a woman with dark skin and long black hair stands against a wavy blue, grey, and white patterned background. Abstract tree-like designs adorn her arms and torso, blending into the background.

The four works in this exhibition were made in response to the 2008 national apology to the Stolen Generations. Exhibited as part of a solo exhibition titled Eegarra Beearaba (To arise from Sorrow), these portraits of Aboriginal women express profound loss and sadness and celebrate their sense of belonging and resilience. Embodying the classical elements of fire, wind, water and air, each of the women is portrayed with colours and designs that connect them to their Country and share their ancient and ongoing ties to the land and waters.

Related exhibitions

65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art