Created for Ballarat Apron Festival to present Ballarat's Aboriginal history, to be displayed along side the Festival's Ballarat Apron. Oil painting on handmade treated canvas apron. Two large thick cotton ties at waist and loop for neck. marlene gilson, ballarat, wadawurrung, aboriginal

Waa Waa – Crow Feathers is a painting from Aunty Marlene Gilson’s 2022 exhibition ‘Bunjil Wour Kun Ya – Spirit of My Ancestors’. This work tells the story of Waa-Waa, the first Wadawurrung to see a white man, Matthew Flinders and his crew surveying the southern Australian coastline near the You Yangs on 1 May 1802. Speaking to Wyndham Art Gallery’s curatorial framework themes of Foregrounding, Habitat and Localism, the work portrays in Wadawurrung lore the first sighting of a European and acknowledges Australian First Nations peoples original and ongoing connections with land, history, politics and knowledges of place. The scene is overlooking the You Yangs which is deeply connected with the local place and habitat of the Werribee Plain. Aunty Marlene Gilson is a Wathaurung (Wadawarrung) Elder living on country in Gordon, near Ballarat. Marlene Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist’s meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to Country. australian first nations art, cultural story, australian painting, wathaurung, female artist

Aunty Marlene Gilson is a Wathaurong (Wadawurrung) Elder who lives on Country in the Ballarat area. A self-taught artist, Gilson has received considerable acclaim and attention for her painting of historic encounters, in particular with regard to the retelling of events in which early colonial depictions excluded First Nations people. Marngrook Football depicts the first game of Australian Rules football played between Ballarat and Geelong while a parallel game of Marngrook takes place within view.

Two invitation cards featuring the artwork 'Mount Warrenheip and Eureka Stockade' by Marlene Gilson. .1) Invitation to Eureka 160 Commemorative Events .2) Invitation to the Peter Tobin Oration presented by Ron Knowles. eureka stockade, eureka 160, kaaran koomen, marlene gilson, peter tobin oration

Marlene is a proud Wadawurrung artist, who currently lives in regional Victoria. Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist's meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to Country. Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press. public art, australian first nations art, printmaking

Transfer drawing made at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and screen printed at Negative Press. public art, australian first nations art, printmaking

Marlene is a proud Wadawurrung artist, who currently lives in regional Victoria. Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist's meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to Country. Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press. public art, australian first nations art, printmaking

"Aunty Marlene Gilson is a proud Wadawaurrung traditional owner and Elder. Her multi-figure paintings work to overturn colonial narratives by re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Marlene began painting in 2008 as a form of therapy, while recovering from an illness. She has received considerable accolades and most recently exhibited a series of works in the Sydney Biennale (2018). The artist’s meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Marlene has developed an extensive body of work which relates to her ancestral lands which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Marlene was invited to create a new work for the Darebin Art Collection that either related to the City of Darebin or her traditional lands. She chose the subject of Bundoora Homestead for this new commission and has included First Nations people alongside colonial settlers and members of the Smith Family enabling an opportunity to reflect on the incredible history of Bundoora Homestead and its surrounds. This painting brings Aboriginal people and Colonialists into the one space living harmoniously and in doing so reminds us that reconciliation may be a possibility. ""We visited Bundoora Homestead and farm, what an amazing place. In my research I found that Mr Smith built a stone hut for the Aboriginal people to stay when they visited. They bred cattle and horses, Wallace being the greatest sire in Australia and is buried on the property. They had three gardeners and four children, which I have painted in the garden with Mr and Mrs Smith seated watching the children play. Thank you for allowing me to look into the history of John and Helen Smith. I hope I have captured their life and amazing Homestead and surrounds. 31.8.18"""