TREVOR NICKOLLS - METAMORPHOSIS

 TREVOR NICKOLLS
METAMORPHOSIS,  2011
91.5 x 91.5 cm
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Canvas
 
PROVENANCE
Melbourne, VIC
Artists Estate, VICPrivate Collection, VIC 
 
STORY
This work won the Blake Prize in 2013. The painting Metamorphosis is about the transformation of the physical being into the spiritual. An Aboriginal man has transformed into a butterfly (a mimi spirit butterfly) on his way to the spiritual realm. The man has grown the wings to enable him to fly there. His head has already transformed into that of a Wundjina spirit with no mouth. He is carrying/holding up the head of a young Aboriginal woman which he knows he cannot bring with him, however he is still attached to her. Trevor said about this painting: ā€�I have included elements that are both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal - like the peace doves on each side of the Aboriginal man - which are Christian. This represents me ā€“ I am Aboriginal and also have other ancestry ā€¦.ā€¯ This painting was one of three works Trevor did before he died which featured spirits, two feature water spirits. Just after completing this painting, he painted a painting commission for the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery where he was to have his last exhibition in May 2012. The title of the exhibition was: When the lost spirits meet: Trevor Nickolls.
 
EXHIBITED
Winner - 2013, Black PrizeCooee Art Gallery at Australian Galleries, April 2016, Australian Galleries Sydney