Tenison Woods Catholic School unveiled a significant piece of art created by award winning South Australian Indigenous Artist and Tenison Woods school parent, Damien Shen.
Damien’s artistic practice is embedded in histories: revisiting the people, places and stories that shape the world in which he lives. Damien’s artworks include drawings, water colours and oil paintings.
The piece created especially for the Tenison Woods Catholic School community, shows the connection between identity and history. Damien launched the artwork at a special assembly in which he shared with the students his journey to becoming an artist, his Ngarrindjeri heritage and the story behind the artwork.
In the background of the artwork is an image of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop walking with two young children, one of whom is indigenous; a reminder that St Mary encouraged children from any cultural background to walk with her to school and to Church in the areas that she served.
The bronze statue located outside St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Adelaide inspired the image. The statue by artist Judith Rolevink, was unveiled in Mary MacKillop Plaza adjacent to St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in 2009.
Damien reminded the students that St Mary spent time at Yankalilla where she would most likely have had contact with many Ngarrindjeri people and taught Ngarrindjeri students.
Dot painting, whilst not a traditional form of Ngarrindjeri art, was developed as a way to encode traditional Aboriginal messages. Damien spoke of the importance of continuing to tell stories and share the messages in order to understand and keep the many cultures alive.
The dot painting pattern in the foreground of the artwork consists of the same patterns carved on Ngarrindjeri shields and symbolize the importance of Indigenous history and cultural connections.
Pictured: Damien Shen at the unveiling of the painting.
Caritas Carnival is an annual event of fun for the St. Gabriel's School community that is centred around the stories from Project Compassion and raises funds that are donated to Caritas Australia.
