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 Request Access
Other works in this series
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.
