Wayne Quilliam (born 1963) is an Aboriginal Australian photographic artist, curator, and cultural adviser based in Melbourne.[1][2] He specializes in portraits and landscapes.

Wayne Quilliam
Born1967 (age 56–57)
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
SpouseJodie
ChildrenTanisha

Early life

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Quilliam was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and raised in the suburbs.[2][3] As a child, he spent time in the bush around the Great Lakes and Central Tasmania where he learned about the land from his uncles and grandfather.[4] However, he was otherwise disconnected from his aboriginal culture.[4][5]

Career

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At the age of 15, Quilliam joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1979.[2][3][5][6] He acquired his first camera at the age of 17 in 1980 while stationed in Hong Kong.[6][7][8]

When Quilliam was 21, he bought dark-room equipment from a customer whose chimney he was sweeping.[8]

He later worked at an aboriginal newspaper, the Koori Mail.[5]

He teaches as an adjunct professor at RMIT University in the School of Media and Communication.[3][7]

Work

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Quilliam's work includes documenting significant Indigenous events over the past 20 years, including the Sorry speech, 1967 Referendum Anniversary, Garma, Laura, Burunga, Dreaming and Yeperenye festivals, and thousands of community events throughout the country. He has estimated that he has visited between 300 and 400 aboriginal communities.[5]

Wayne works with Indigenous groups in Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Guam, developing intercultural art and cultural exchanges with the vision of creating global exhibitions.[9]

His ‘Lowanna’ series infuses textures of earth onto the human form, while his ‘Towindri’ landscape art and ‘Smoke’ exhibition explores the cultural significance of smoking ceremonies.

He is the official photographer for the Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures in Arnhem Land.[7]

Exhibitions

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Quilliam has held solo exhibitions in Havana, Tokyo, Mexico City, Caracas, New York City and Los Angeles, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and featured at the United Nations, New York. Representing Australia at G’Day LA where his art was seen by more than 20 million people on USA television followed by opening a solo show in New York a week later. It is estimated his photographic exhibition of the ‘Apology’, ‘Sorry more than a Word’ that opened at Parliament House in Canberra has been experienced by more than a quarter of a million people and continues to attract large audiences as it travels the world.[9]

These shows continue his international successes from the Museum of Young Art, Vienna, several galleries in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg as well as Russia, Guam, Indonesia and numerous galleries in Australia. His ‘Towindri’ exhibition in Cairo attracted critical acclaim and toured Riyadh and Beirut in 2014.

Personal life

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Quilliam is "a freshwater man from the central highlands of Tasmania".[6] He has been with his wife, Jodie, since the early 2000s.[1][6] The couple have a daughter, Tanisha.[6][15]

Books

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  • Culture is Life (2021); Hardie Grant[7]

Awards

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He has won AIMSC Business of the Year, and been nominated as a Master of Photography by National Geographic. He was a finalist in the PrixPictet in Paris and in the Bowness Art Award.[16][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Wayne Quilliam". NAIDOC. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Wayne Quilliam". Australian-Art-Gallery.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Kelsey-Sugg, Anna; Stott-Sugden, Edwina (3 August 2021). "Wayne Quilliam wants his photography to open people's hearts and minds to Indigenous culture". ABC News. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "The Art of Wayne Quilliam revealed". NITV. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Rodd, Isabelle (18 April 2022). "Photographing the diversity of Aboriginal Australia". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Scott, Eleanor (20 January 2021). "Wayne Quilliam Shares Cultural Stories Through Landscapes". Urth Magazine. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Ditessa, Rob (29 June 2021). "Profile: Wayne Quilliam". Australian Photography. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Barton, Jacob (29 November 2007). "Wayne Quilliam". Deadly Vibe. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam". une.edu.au. UNE. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  10. ^ "HOME". DECADE Wyndham. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  11. ^ "INSTACULTURE –". ambushgallery.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Instaculture: an exhibition by Wayne Quilliam". www.indigenous.gov.au. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Wayne Quilliam 'DJIWARR', Exhibition Open 19 April - 4 August 2020". theexhibit.io. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Earth Burns, Water Cries, Exhibition by Wayne Quilliam". NAIDOC. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  15. ^ Ryder, Casey (13 August 2020). "Year 6 Guest Speaker: A. Professor Wayne Quilliam". Bacchus Marsh Grammar. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  16. ^ "William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize: 25 September 2015 to 22 November 2015". mga.org.au. Monash Gallery of Art. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Indigenous Australians honoured in 2010 National NAIDOC Awards". naidoc.org.au. NAIDOC. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2017. It opened with a photography exhibition from 2009 National NAIDOC Artist of the Year, Wayne Quilliam.
  18. ^ "Survival announces winners of 2020 calendar photo competition". www.survivalinternational.org. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  19. ^ Galvin, Nick (1 July 2022). "The award-winning, stunning image that captures the 'strong silence' of its subject". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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