A MOUNT Gambier family will feature in a prestigious South Australian Aboriginal art exhibition later this month.
Boandik elder of the year Ken Jones will have his artwork featured at this year’s Our Mob exhibition at the Adelaide Festival Centre alongside his sons Flint and Lincoln.
Mr Jones said the three paintings represent separate traditional Boandik stories which have been told for generations.
“My canvas represents our ancient Boandik trading tracks,” he said.
“Coastal people used to keep live crayfish in moist seaweed for many days as they walk inland and trade their valuable bounty.”
Mr Jones said his piece reflected the freshwater eels which spawned near Vanuatu and swam a treacherous journey in order to reach their parents’ inland swamps.
“Essentially it is about the circle of life,” he said.
Flint and Lincoln will feature in the younger section of the exhibition, Our Young Mob, with their pieces based on animals associated with Boandik history.
“Flint’s painting is of a green swamp skink which lives on the edge of our seasonal wetlands,” Mr Jones said.
“The mothers bear live young and need to avoid kookaburras, magpies and goannas.
“The colourful mother needs to hide among the cutting grass during the daytime in order to protect itself.”
Mr Jones said the leatherback turtle featured in Lincoln’s painting showed the creature hatching out of a leathery egg on the beach.
“When grown up the turtles hunt for pink jellyfish off the Boandik coast,” he said.
“Lincoln’s turtle travels far out to sea and becomes so excited she jumps and splashes out of the water as she reaches for the stars.”
The Our Mob exhibition alongside Our Young Mob is the culmination of artistic activities held across the state, which bring Aboriginal artists together to present a unique and outstanding exhibition of Aboriginal art across a diverse range of media.
The exhibition started in 2006 and is held in the spirit of reconciliation to demonstrate the power of art in bringing together diverse people in harmony with a common goal.
Mr Jones is also known around the Limestone Coast for his extensive traditional knowledge, particularly within the environmental section.
Recently he took part in the traditional art project at the Blue Lake Pumping Station, which presents the Boandik story associated with the area.
The exhibition starts August 23 and will run until October 3 at QBE Galleries at the Adelaide Festival Theatre.
