Capturing Country

Mossenson Galleries has displayed the very best Indigenous artists for many years in Subiaco, and a new exhibition will showcase the work of Shane Pickett, one of owner Di Mossenson’s favourite artists.

WORDS | Gail Williams. Capturing Country

FOR ALMOST A decade in the early part of this century, many Subiaco residents went about their daily routines completely unaware there was a West Australian cultural icon working in their midst.

Every morning Shane Pickett – one of the greatest Aboriginal artists of his time – would quietly slip into Mossenson Galleries during his stint as artist-in-residence to splash colour over canvas producing breathtaking works illustrating his incredible connection to country and which now feature in galleries and collections all around the world.

For the last eight years of his life, this humble, dignified artist whose Noongar name was Meeyakba, or ‘soft light of the moon,’ was in his happy place behind a curtain in the former Volvo workshop in Hay

IN THE RED Opposite, Shane Pickett, Biroc Song for Bunuroo Left, Over the Cultural Ground (acrylic on canvas), below, Wanyarang and Fish Traps. Bottom, Diane Mossenson, co-owner of Mossenson Galleries.

Street, doing what he loved most and where he created some of his most significant works.

Occasionally he would be spotted chatting with visitors to the gallery, wandering down to the local cafe or visiting another artist, Murray Gill, who supplied Pickett with his paints from his nearby art shop.

And now, 12 years after his sudden death due to heart complications at age 52, Pickett is still finding fame half way around the world from Quairading’s Badjaling mission where, as one of eight kids, he grew up surrounded by kerosene tins, hessian bags and corrugated iron.

Some 29 works from the most radical phase of his extensive career have been on exhibition in the United States since October, 2018 and are currently being shown at The McClung Museum in the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, making this US tour the longest solo exhibition of any Australian artist.

The exhibition, “Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land that I Have Traveled), is a partnership between the Mossenson Art Foundation, the Embassy of Australia in Washington DC, and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia.

Nobody was more thrilled than his longtime friend and mentor, Diane Mossenson, co-owner of Mossenson Galleries – the oldest art gallery in Subiaco – who offered him the work space after meeting him in Milan.

The gallery, in collaboration with Pickett’s family and WA fashion house, Hoodedwept, is also paying tribute to the late artist in an upcoming art and fashion exhibition called Booka Dreaming (11 – 28 August) which features his works printed on fabrics in a clothing range designed by Neil Sherriff.

“We are completing one of Shane’s unfinished projects which was his dream,” says Mossenson. “The range includes ties, scarves, T-shirts, jackets and dresses and his grandson, Jermaine, will be modelling in the show.“

Mossenson says few Subi residents realise the strong connection Pickett had with their suburb.

“His work is displayed in the Subiaco Museum, St John of God Hospital and King Edward Memorial Hospital and he did some work for the City of Subiaco,” she says.

Back in 1993 Mossenson gave up her medical career to establish Indigenart – which became Mossenson Galleries – with her lawyer husband, Dan. They went on to establish galleries in Fremantle, Carlton and Collingwood and continue to run their operation from Subiaco with their daughter, Naomi.

The idea to open a gallery exclusively dedicated to serious Aboriginal art came about during the couple’s travels to Alice Springs where they were introduced to astonishing artworks being done in the local communities. “These brilliant artists were producing wonderful paintings, sculptures and artefacts inspired by their environment, history and culture,” she says. “Yet there was no

POWERFUL WORK Below, Kudi by Ngarra, acrylic on paper and above, Mossenson Galleries exhibits works by Loonkgoonan, Ngarra, Omborrin, Brian Robinson as well as Shane Pickett.

West Australian gallery exclusively dedicated to serious Aboriginal art.”

They began eyeing off potential spaces and Lloyds Volvo Service Centre in Hay Street – where they got their car serviced – became available. Grease, oil and noisy car engines gave way to the beautiful artworks. The Indigenous artists became their trusted friends as they gently guided their careers while introducing their work to an international market.

“In many cases these incredible artists - working in paint, sculpture and crafts - were, perhaps for the first time, creating and presenting work to the outside world which stemmed directly from their deeply spiritual beliefs,” says Mossenson.

Mossenson has played a signficant role in guiding the careers of artists such as Ngarra, Loongkoonan, Lucy Ward and Omborrin and in 2006 the gallery expanded its interests to include non-Indigenous artists adding Col Jordan, Emanuel Raft, Graham Kuo and Peter Pinson to their stable.

But it is clear from the softness in her voice when his name is mentioned, that Mossenson will always have a special place in her heart for Pickett, who turned to painting landscapes of the wheatbelt as a child when his rheumatoid arthritis prevented him from playing sport.

By the time Mossenson met him in Milan he had already established a name for himself and was earning a living as a painter while working with illustrious names like playwright Jack Davis, musician Richard Walley and actor Ernie Dingo.

Though he became famous in his own right, with his works being picked up by the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the National Gallery and WA Museum Boola Bardip, he never lost touch with his roots or his strong connection to country.

“To me he was a gentle soul ... humble yet confident in his ability as an artist,” says Mossenson. “His power to create came from the strength of his connecton to Country, his family and his culture. He never deviated form these as the themes and inspiration for his artworks, and he was never short of ideas for creation.”

Head to the following Subiaco locations to view Pickett’s works:

Subiaco Museum

239 Rokeby Road, Subiaco Aboriginal message stick - symbolic, larger than traditional message stick. Carved from the local bush timber. Commissioned by the Museum as part of its commitment to Aboriginal/ White Australian reconciliation.

Mossenson Galleries

115 Hay Street, Subiaco Several art works

Also Subiaco is home to some of the most seductive art galleries in the State. Check out these ones:

The Orangery Gallery

320 Onslow Road, Shenton Park A beautifully restored 100-year-old building which now offers dazzling artworks where lolly jars once lined the walls. Pressed tin ceilings and timber floorboards form the backdrop to works by celebrated West Australian artists such as John Cullinane and Michael Doherty.

Linton & Kay Galleries,

299 Railway Road, Subiaco This long-established gallery specialises in two-dimensional and threedimensional artworks and the work of the artists they represent is featured on some of the most stylish hospitality venues in our State. Look to Cherubino City Wine Cellar for eye candy to go with your wine and authentic Italian feasts. THE PAINTING AT Lake Jualbup by Shane Pickett was commissioned to commemorate the restoration of the Indigenous name to the area. ‘Jualbup’ meaning ‘a place where water rises in the season of spring’, was an important watering hole and hunting area for the Indigenous peoples of the South West until European settlement. By illustrating the native flora and fauna of the wetlands, including the black swan, toad and long-necked turtle, the painting celebrates the Nyungah spiritual links with the land, and doubles as a sign.

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SUBIACO ARTS CENTRE

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