Proselytiser, 2000
digital photographic print on acrylic
120 x 120 cm (image); 126.5 x 126.5 cm (framed)
1 from an edition of 10
SOLD
Provenance
The artist Aboriginal Art, Australian Photography & Digital Art, Sotheby's, Melbourne, 5 October 2004, Lot No. 183
Private collection, Melbourne
Exhibited
Brook Andrew: Eye to Eye, Monash University Museum of Art 4 April -23 June 2007; Penrith Regional Gallery & the Lewers Bequest 18 August - 14 October 2007, Sydney; the John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University of Technology 4 April - 30 May 2008, Perth.
Polemics, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, 2000
Literature
Nikos Papastergiadis, Marianne Riphagen and Brook Andrew, Geraldine Barlow, Anne Loxley, Lynette Russell, Brook Andrew: Eye to Eye, Monash University Museum of Art, 2007, p. 54; 55 (illus.) Maud Page, Polemics, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, 2000, exh. cat. pp. 2-3
Proselytiser (2000) depicts an Indigenous preacher in a blue suit and cowboy hat carrying a large bible in the middle of a road, encircled by hypnotic rings of light in a Wiradjuri optical pattern that visualise the power of his words. Andrew deliberately emphasises the preacher's handsomeness, rendering him in colour against the black-and-white backdrop and dressing him in a smart blue suit and hat.
Writing about the figure of the proselytiser in Andrew's work, Maud Page noted that "The proselytiser is a timeless figure, he stands for many things and is re-contextualised throughout history... His words become revered, he stands for so much to so many people." (Maud Page, Polemics, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, 2000, exh. cat. pp. 2-3.)
On the other hand, proselytisers are often figures who are ignored, especially when their preachings do not align with traditional beliefs. That irony of being both respected and compelling but often looked over by society at large produces a compelling allegory for broader questions of race and prejudice within Australian society.
Another large digital print on acrylic from the edition is held in the Vizard Foundation Art Collection, Melbourne. A further edition of 5 cibachrome prints was made, one of which is in the collection of the Casula Powerhouse, Sydney.
Image courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney