HELEN S. TIERNAN - WE ARE STRONGER WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER

 HELEN S. TIERNAN
WE ARE STRONGER WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER,  2018
169 x 110 cm
oil on canvas
 
PROVENANCE
Lake Tyers, VIC
 
 
STORY
Helen Tiernan is an artist of Aboriginal Irish decent who draws on the historic record of colonial encounter to recontextualize the complexity of these histories in dramatic works of lyrical and surreal inspiration. ā€�IndigenousĀ people used complexĀ social laws to share information, bounty and history and left traces of this in the landscape, storytelling, ceremony and song. This enabled them to survive and thrive a multitude of environments for over 70,000 years. Europeans left a legacy of settler activity across the landscape and documented their experiences in the accounts of explorers, artists and writers.ā€¯The strong red verticalĀ lines and the couple featured in this work point to the process of evolution occurring within Australian society and the importance of the social fabric and interconnections created that give strength, wisdom and resilience. In Aboriginal terms the lines are the storylines thatĀ describe the lore and spiritual knowledge that binds all people togetherĀ through triumph and adversity. The couple are a universal metaphor for human bonds and co-operation.The paintingĀ refers to colonial artistĀ Joseph Lycettā€™sĀ alluringĀ night skiesĀ andĀ RichardĀ Browneā€™s observations of canoe kitchen fishing,Ā by the light ofĀ Yellana,Ā (theĀ moon). As images of First Australians they capture an idyllic vision of Aboriginal lives in ā€�countryā€™ which has been imbedded in the Australian collective psyche. "We are stronger when we are together".