Adele Chapman-Burgess
CREATIVE PRACTICE
Visual arts
To provide an awareness and interest to revive traditional values and cultural practices through workshops
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have always had an interest in art and I have been painting on and off all my life. My paintings are about my many journeys and the many hats I wear – it is my spiritual strength and learning more about my family connections to the places, we visit. My spirit has grown stronger and wiser over time (55 plus years) as I continue to gain more knowledge of my Aboriginal cultural heritage.
‘Connection to country is inherent, we are born to it, it is how we identify ourselves, and it is our family, our laws/lore, and our legacy’ …My art/weaving takes on many forms. I bring a modern expression to an ancient custom. Despite significant change and diversity, art retains an underlying unity of inspiration—the land and the peoples’ relationships with it. It is simultaneously connected to the past whilst engaged with the present. My art/weaving is engaging with the world through actions which are lively, positive, political, social and creative. I love the way tasks overlap with memories. I enjoy painting and weaving for healing, to feel good and to connect to my unique Aboriginal culture. My paintings and weaves are merely a new form incorporating the classic elements of Aboriginal Life. They state a person's relationship to those around them, to the land and to the Dreaming. They also represent a new context of interaction between Aboriginal and western societies – as a First Nation artist I need to be able to ‘walk in two worlds’, I need to be two ways strong, strong in traditional culture and strong in the new ways – contemporary ways.
Through modern art and the knowledge holder of cultural practices of weaving I am able to introduce and pass on my culture to my community and the world beyond. I am an artist who loves to use contemporary colours in my artworks and weaving. I love to share my cultural practices with friends and family it keeps my spirit strong to see the joy my art/weaving brings to them. I use a wide range of modern materials and techniques to create contemporary works of art. My inspiration comes from creation, the old people, the inner spirit, my family connections, my life journey and what makes me happy.
BIO
A proud Ngarrabul/Gamilaraay/Yuwaalaraay/Kooma yinaar from the New England area of NSW with 30 years in Aboriginal Education
EDUCATION
• Masters in Indigenous Language Education (MILE) University of Sydney • University of Sydney B.A.(Hons). Dip. Ed • University of Sydney. Assoc Dip (Early Child Care Studies
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Creative Practice
• Partner in Quindalup Aboriginal Art and Photograph • Aboriginal Creative Workshops for schools and communities
Teaching
Current
• TAFE NSW Department of Education and Training – Glen Innes/Inverell
Aboriginal arts and Cultural Practices, Aboriginal Family & Kinship, Aboriginal Cultural Values, Aboriginal Art, History 1, Aboriginal Art History 2
Previous
• TAFE NSW Department of Education and Training - Aboriginal Health and Education • Emmaville Central School • Glen Innes High School • Glen Innes Public School • St. Josephs Convent School - Aboriginal Educational Aide (4 year)
EXHIBITIONS
Group Exhibitions
2018
New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale Myall Creek and Beyond
Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, Armidale Bulaar Yinaa’s Gimabi-li -Two Women to Make
2017
Inverell Art Gallery NAIDOC exhibition Our Languages Matter
Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, Armidale For the Love of Culture and Country
Inland Café, Tamworth Ngaya-gal Gimubi-Li -Our Mob Creates
2016
Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, Armidale Making Old Markings New
Art on the Corner, Glen Innes Recognition
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS AND WORKSHOPS
2019
Artmaking and stallholder Lift Off! Festival of the Wind, Glen Innes
2015
Glen Innes Town Mural – working with students from the Glen Innes High School
COMMISSIONS
• Glen Innes Lands Services • Armidale Police Department • Inverell Child Care • Glen Innes Aussie Kindies • Glen Innes High School
CONTACT
0412 923 500