Art’s HIS THERAPY The future is bright with vivid colours for Yorta Yorta painter Troy Firebrace. STORY: LIAM NASH PICTURE: MEGAN FISHER
T
roy Firebrace was heading down the safe academic avenue, with physiotherapy as the game plan. But it didn’t take him long to realise the work he was doing simply didn’t work for him. Amazingly, it would take a tip from his maths teacher to make him realise his future was a blank canvas and he was responsible for his own destiny. Something the young Yorta Yorta painter already knew deep down; he just needed a little push in the right direction to unlock his real passion. Art. “My maths teacher said you’re best to do something you enjoy doing,
24 // OUR HOME // SPRING 2020
and I enjoyed art, so that was an easy subject to choose for Year 12,” Troy said. “I stuck with that as a foundation, which ended up getting me across the line.” It would do more than that, it would also give the aspiring artist the confidence to take traditional indigenous art and add his own 21st-century interpretation — with healthy splashes of vibrant colour. Yes, it was a big step away from the earthen colours that comprise the traditional palette, but his respect of his heritage always figures in the designs and stories of his works.
To the extent the brush has evolved into an extension of himself, allowing his creativity to flow effortlessly across his canvases as he captures the stories of his people. In the brilliant colours he uses to highlight his own stories. “One thing about Aboriginal art that had always struck me was the fact there are a lot of earthy tones — but not a lot of bright colours,” he said. “I liked the aspect of Aboriginal art, but I wanted to see it better reflect the times and my own style — that was when I started exploring the avenues of using vibrant colours instead of the traditional ones.”
Describing his work as contemporary Aboriginal art, Troy has identified his progression as reaching a freer plane, distanced from conformity. “My art is getting more and more into using abstract characteristics — I’m not using a lot of figures like I did originally,” he said. “I am experimenting more with shapes and representations of trees and branches, using form in a way that references sound and movement.” Troy’s connection to the country around him plays a big part in his work; in that context he retains that sense of artistic tradition.
