Image: Artist, Dean Biŋkin Tyson, on Country, 2026 (Still). Image courtesy of Seth LeBrese.
Dean Biŋkin Tyson is an artist who crosses boundaries. Ancient Quandamooka cultural practices are incorporated into all of his work: his contemporary canvas paintings, his didgeridoo playing, his role as a ‘songman’, and his dancing. Each artistic expression confirms the richness, resilience and unbroken continuity of Goori (Aboriginal) knowledge and the living strength of Quandamooka traditions.
Ochre has always been used to ‘paint up’, to establish the tribal connections of traditional objects and of the practitioner. These unchanged practices ensure the reiteration of lore, story and connection that have existed for millennia. Through Painted Up, Biŋkin, a traditional owner and artist of Ngugi and Goenpel descent, honours those unchanged stories and teachings.
“For me, painting with ochre or being painted-up with ochre is a privilege,” he says. “Painting up is the embodiment of our culture, and also an act of resistance, 60,000 plus years in the making. Our artworks’ mediums may change, but the stories remain the same – the lore does not change, yowai.”
Painted Up is part of a three-year project of artist-residency style exhibitions and activations, collectively titled CREATE EXCHANGE, which invites audiences onto the ancestral homelands of the Quandamooka people. The exhibition, which comprises Bikin’s work and collaborations with family and community, is presented at Redland Art Gallery and The Mezz at Redland Performing Arts Centre.
Painted Up is part of a three-year project of artist-residency style exhibitions and activations, collectively titled CREATE EXCHANGE. The exhibition is presented at Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland and Redland Art Gallery, The Mezz at Redland Performing Arts Centre. CREATE EXCHANGE is supported by Haymans Electrical and Data Suppliers, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) and Redland Art Gallery | Redland City Council.
