JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN, MY HOME

 JOSHUA BONSON
SKIN, MY HOME,  2019
120 x 120 cm
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Canvas
 
PROVENANCE
Darwin
Direct from the artist, Darwin, NTCoo-ee Art, NSW 
 
STORY
Whilst in his senior years at school, Joshua Bonson started to paint in acrylics in what he describes as a 3D style. He applies his paint thickly, creating works that are contemporary in appearance yet embody age old Indigenous traditions and meanings. In this way he recreates the scales of a saltwater crocodile, which is his totem.Bonsonā€™s great-grandmother was from Badu in the Torres Strait Islands and her eldest son, his grandfather,  the inspiration for his work, taught him that everything is connected - the land, the water and its people.His work can be read as a close-up of a reptileā€™s skin; as a landscape both seen from a distance; and as detailed images of rockā€™s and sand. Through his art, Bonson is trying to rediscover his family culture and establish his place within it.
 
EXHIBITED
Sydney Contemporary 2019Booth A11,  , Carriage Works