JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT | OCTOBER 2021 by Cooee Art Leven

TO CONNECT

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

JOSHUA BONSON

COOEE ART REDFERN | 23 OCTOBER - 13 NOVEMBER 2021 1

SOLO EXHIBITION

COOEE ART REDFERN 17 Thurlow Street Redfern NSW 2016

cover (front & back) image Joshua Bonson | Skin - Arafura Sea (detail) | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 159 x 189 cm | #19094 inside front cover image Artist Joshua Bonson painting #19099 on page 14

COOEE ART | EMILY KNGWARREYE

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT 23 October - 13 November 2021

“Memories, Feelings, Ancestors, Family and my environment are what drives me when creating works.” - Joshua Bonson

To Connect

This exhibition is a body of works that have been lovingly created over the past 12 months, a reflection of myself, my feelings, my family, and aspects of the place they were made.

captured. Textured streaks of acrylic create an element of flow, scaled surface telling a personal story - a portrayal of uniqueness, solidarity, and an acknowledgement of bloodlines.

I created works to connect and to open windows into other people’s thoughts and to have them tell me what they see and feel. An opportunity for the audience to use their imagination to find something in my work that makes them think, feel, experience, and maybe share that with someone else. I want my artworks to generate stories that people connect over or around; I love hearing what people see in my paintings. Each work is unique, with its own personality. They are all a part of me, enabling me to express myself, tell a story, start a conversation.

Thick slabs of paint applied generously float on watery surfaces, alluding to my people and totem, the saltwater crocodile. Sections of landscape, closeups, memories of places and times gone past and family. Each painting is a contemporary work that reflects my visual language, portraying its own personality with the use of texture, movement and colour.

The completed works are both contemporary abstractions in appearance but also embody indigenous traditions and meanings that stretch back over time. In our culture, there is a connection between people and families; kinship that can’t be described or translated in English. I capture those ties in my works, with my markings and brushstrokes. My heritage guides the stories

Everyone’s art is different, I try to be me, and create as I want to, the way I choose to. I hope everyone enjoys the works and are able to spend time with each piece.The surface allows the painting to change as light shift across the canvas, becoming new and hopefully generating a fresh experience for the viewer every day.

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Joshua Bonson

Skin - Arafura Sea | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 159 x 189 cm | #19094

What has been the inspiration for your current series?

Was it a challenge to create these works during COVID-19?

By way of the events of the last year and the prolonged isolation, a lot of the themes are drawn from within, kind of diving into my mind to seek inspiration, which is usually my process anyway, though more as a way to complete my works rather than a full lifestyle.

Thematically, I’ll admit it was difficult to break out of the COVID headspace; being trapped, notions of an Apocalyptic Global shut down were hard to break out of. The media was flooded with bad news.

I can see the Arafura Sea from my bedroom windows and back yard. Watching how it changes every minute of the day; the sky, the ocean, the sunrise and sunset. I try to channel all of this into my work by use of texture, movement and colour. How has your process changed/adapted during COVID-19? I would normally seek isolation to do my work; If anything, COVID-19 has made it easier to isolate and search internally for a theme or a pattern that needs to come out.

But that aside, I have been blessed to be living in Darwin, The Top End of Australia which until June 2021 was relatively untouched by Covid -19 within the community. Our lives had remained fairly normal on ground, mostly being able to move around more or less freely. My home in Fannie Bay is a relaxed, small community by the sea side. What is your creative process? How do you plan your compositions? Patented! I was advised many years ago by Angelina George and Prince of Wales to never reveal your creative process.

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

In Conversation

I don’t really pre plan my compositions. The ideas and mood come to me during the process and guides me along the way. Memories, Feelings, Ancestors, Family and my environment are what drives me when creating works. How did you come up with your titles for this exhibition? They just happen naturally. Not planned Creating art for me is an emotional journey, no two works are the same, each has its own DNA. There really isn’t a continuous theme or titles. Still, the heart of all of my works has and will continue to be my totem, the Saltwater Crocodile. So Skin has been the title of most of my works to date. I was blessed to have known Larrakia artist Prince of Wales when I was in my teens. My mum looked after him in his studio and I was able to spend time with him. His works were always titled Body Marks and when I began painting, he advised me to title my works Skin. Our home has his works scattered throughout and I feel his presence daily. What challenges your creativity? Other than material availability? Stress. Stress about the lives we have to lead into the future that is getting bleaker and hotter and harder to live in. Stress about who I am. What I need to achieve to be satisfied or happy. Blocking out the stress is impossible, so I try my best to channel it into something productive. Being around my family reduces stress and reminds me of how wonderful life is living in Darwin by the Arafura Sea.

Do you have a favourite work from this exhibition? I like them all! They are all a part of me. Every work has a part of me within the completed work, my DNA I wouldn’t let people see them if I didn’t feel they were all worth being my favourite.

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Skin - Abstraction | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 158 x 119 cm | #19095

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Ocean Tides | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 119 x 159 cm | #19096

Skin - Kadal | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 120 x 117 cm | #19097

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Skin - Badu | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 118 x 99 cm | #19098

Magical Place | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 99 x 119 cm | #19099

“The sky, the ocean, the sunrise and sunset. I tr y to channel all of this into my work ...”

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

- Joshua Bonson

Sunset I | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 119 x 95 cm | #19100

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Sunset II | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 119 x 95 cm | #19101

Curriculum Vitae Joshua Bonson (b. 1988 Darwin) Jawoyn / Kala Lagaw Ya peoples

Collections National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth, WA TOGA Contemporary Art Collection Australia & Berlin Art Bank Collection, Sydney, NSW PricewaterhouseCoopers, Perth, WA H.M & R.A Horton Collection, Qld & New Zealand Duncan-Powell Collection, SA Lindsay-Lowry Collection, SA Somerville Community Services Inc Collection, NT

Varga / Coombs Collection, NSW Arthur Roe Collection, Vic Wheelock Properties Collection, Singapore Peter Cooke Collection, Qld John ( Foxy ) Robinson Collection, NT Jane Jordan Collection, SA & NT Churchie Collection, Brisbane, Qld Brooke David Collection, NT Michael Coleman Collection, NT

Commissions TOGA Group PTY LTD TOGA Group Vibe Hotel, Germany Rydges Hotel, Palmerston, NT Somerville Community Services Inc, NT

University of Sydney AMMRF – University Collection Churchie School Art Collection, Brisbane, Qld Stirling Collection, NSW Commissions by Private Clients Nationally & Internationally

Selected Exhibitions 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2008 2007

Solo Exhibition To Connect, Cooee Art Gallery, Redfern, NSW Group Exhibition notfair 2021, Melbourne, Vic Starlight Children’s Foundation Charity Ball, Darwin, NT - donated a painting value $15,000 Sydney Contemporary Online, Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW Finalist: The Alice Prize, NT 20/20 Group exhibition – 20 Artists from across Australia 2020 – Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW Sydney Contemporary Online, Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW Starlight Children’s Foundation Charity Ball, Darwin, NT – donated a painting value $15,000 Solo Exhibition SKIN, Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW Starlight Foundation Charity Ball, Darwin, NT – donated a painting valued $15,000 Garrmalang Festival Darwin, Group Exhibition, Darwin Entertainment Centre Starlight Children’s Foundation Charity Ball, Darwin, NT – donated a painting valued $10,000 Finalist: Churchie Art Award, Brisbane, Qld Solo Exhibition - ReDot Fine Art Gallery, Singapore Group Exhibition - Australian Experimental Art Foundation, Lion Arts Centre, Adelaide, SA Finalist - 30th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NT Finalist - City of Albany Art Prize, Albany, WA Solo Exhibition 24hour Art, Darwin, NT Group Exhibition - Australian Experimental Art Foundation, Lion Arts Centre, Adelaide, SA Solo Exhibition - Harvison Gallery, Perth, WA Winner - Togart Contemporary Art Award, Darwin, NT Solo Exhibition - Harvison Gallery, Perth, WA Group Exhibition - Melbourne Art Fair, Vic Finalist - 25th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NT Finalist - 24th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NT

2020 2015 2014 2013 2011 2008 2007

Finalist: The Alice Prize, NT 2015 Awarded: Scholarship at Bundanon Trust Artist Retreat, NSW, Ervin Vidor, Director of the TOGA Group Finalist: Churchie Art Award, Brisbane, Qld Winner: Young Achievers Award NT, Artist of the year 2014 Winner: Top End NAIDOC Artist of the Year 2013 Finalist: City of Albany Contemporary Art Prize, WA Finalist: 30th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NT Winner: TOGART Contemporary Art Award, NT Finalist: 25th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NT Finalist: 24th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NT

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Awards & Prizes

The Ocean’s Rhythm I | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 60 x 48 cm | #19104

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

The Ocean’s Rhythm II | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 60 x 48 cm | #19103

Biography Joshua Bonson is an award-winning Darwin-based artist working to expand the visual language and traditions of Indigenous art in the region. His works are held in major institutions and private collections, including The National Gallery of Australia, Kerry Stokes, Wheelock Properties Collection, Toga Contemporary Art, and the Art Bank Collection. Bonson shares stories of his Indigenous heritage through his work. Accolades have followed Bonson since the age of 18, when he was the youngest ever finalist in the prestigious Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award. At 22, he was awarded the Togart Contemporary Art Award. In 2013, Bonson was again a finalist in the 30th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Finalist in the City of Albany Art Prize, and Winner of the Top End NAIDOC artist of the year. In 2014 Joshua held his first solo exhibition internationally and received the Young Achievers Award NT, Artist of the Year. In 2015, Joshua received a scholarship at Bundanon Trust Artists Retreat, NSW, provided by Ervin Vidor, Director of the Toga Group. He was also a finalist in the Churchie Art Award QLD. In 2020 Joshua was a finalist in The Alice Prize. Culture plays an important part in Joshua’s life and his art. ‘My great grandmother was from Badu in the Torres Strait islands and her eldest son was my grandfather, Donald Bonson Sr. He is the inspiration for my work. He told me everything is connected, the land, the water and us. Like the crocodile, we are saltwater people with an ancient lineage.’ Joshua also traces his ancestry through his great-great grandmother Dolly Bonson, a Jawoyn woman from Katherine who was also known as Bett-Bett, the servant girl featured in We of the Never-Never and The Little Black princess books

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

‘In our culture, there is a connection between people and families; kinship that can’t be described or translated in English. I capture those ties in my works, with my markings and the strokes of the brush. My heritage guides the stories captured.Textured streaks of acrylic create an element of flow, scaled perfection, they tell a personal story .... a portrayal of uniqueness, solidarity, and an acknowledgement of bloodlines.’

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

The Ocean’s Rhythm III | 2021 synthetic polymer paint on canvas | 60 x 44 cm | #19102

Acknowledgements Over the past 12 months I have had time to stop and reflect on my artistic journey while creating this body of work. My artistic career began in my teens and I have been continually blessed with the constant support and encouragement received from my family along the way. Thank you, Mum, Dad and Jessie. In 2011 my artistic journey changed significantly when I was awarded the winner of the TOGA Art Award. It was then that I had the honour of meeting Ervin Vidor, AM, Executive Chairman of Toga Group, a passionate and active contributor to the arts and for me personally and artistically the positive influence that I needed as an emerging artist and young man to achieve all that I have since. Thank you, Ervin, for your guidance, support, advise and encouragement to continue creating artwork and for providing unique opportunities to create art without stress or pressure. Words cannot express my gratitude for your time and assistance over the years.

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

Thank you, Ervin.

JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

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JOSHUA BONSON | TO CONNECT

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