I was told recently that it rains heavily after one of our Aboriginal community elders passes away. The rain is intended to help their body lay at peace in their new resting place. When I think about other past floods we have had, I can say this statement holds true.

I have always believed that with flooding comes a sense of cleansing, cleansing of the land and a cleansing of the people. The flowing water washes away part of the history that has choked the landscape for many years. Some of this history is good and some of it is bad. Whatever the reason, all histories deserve to be remembered.

2011 will be a big year, for myself and my community.
Not only will I be working hard in the studio, I will also be working alongside some of the Yaegl Elders to help them document their story in a small scale publication which can then be used as a valuable resource for the community. I believe the stories of our elders are priceless and need to be documented before it is too late.
This project will commence in February 2011 and will be officially launched during NAIDOC Week in July 2011.

Please keep checking back for updates on the project;
All the best for 2011!

Being a Yaegl woman from Maclean on the Clarence River in Australia, I can only imagine the huge sense of displacement the people living in villages along the banks of the Yangtze must have felt when told the river will rise and your homes will be underwater, you must be relocated. 175 is a new body of work reflecting on the recent rise of the Yangtze River, China.

Being Australian you can’t even begin to imagine the impact such a large scale project would have on the people affected and the natural landscape. Villages have been lost, nature has been manipulated, stories have disappeared, and history has been flooded.

A few years after the creation of the Three Rivers Dam, everything seems to be in order, but I question how long will this actually last. If anything were to happen in the future I wouldn’t like to think how many more million people could be affected.

Frances Belle Parker, October 2010

Please feel free to join me for the opening or to pass this on to people who may be interested!

A group of 7 contemporary Australian artists are in our group and we have been guided around this foreign landscape by the amazing Catherine Croll, without whom this trip would not have been possible. The remaing artists in our group are the one and only Fiona Foley, Philjames (both of whom are living in apartments in the city for the month) and Zhou Xiao Ping who is currently down south somewhere sorting out one of his installation pieces.

The first part of this once in a lifetime journey took place during September 2010 where we were fortunate enough to visit Pingyao, Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Shanghai. From Chongqing (population 32 million), we boarded a rusty old boat and cruised down the awe inspiring Yangtze River.

It is hard to pinpoint just one highlight from the trip as each city we have stayed in has been completely different as has the food. A few of the highlights so far have been, the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, the Giant and Red Pandas in Chengdu, visiting a school in the earthquake region, getting off the rusty boat to cruise through the 3 little gorges, the dumplings in the restaurant we went to in Wuhan, being a VIP at the Shanghai Expo and the clear blue skies we’ve been blessed with in Beijing.

The lowlights so far are pretty obvious, they include the public toilets, lack of hygeine, pollution and the overpopulation in general, but these are all things that you must expect when you visit a country a large as China. Sure it has been a culture shock but over time you adapt to it and learn to embrace it.

The final month is a residency in which we are making artwork that will somehow relate to our Chinese experience. I have a few ideas of what I will be creating including an installation about the 56 ethnic groups that make up China (55 of the 56 are considered minority groups).

Exciting times ahead, keep checking back for progress on my new work.

Our group exhibition ‘Hard Sleeper’ will open 3pm Saturday 30 October at Red Gate Gallery Beijing.

Standing outside Red Gate Gallery, Beijing

Students from the Primary school in the Earthquake region, after our class

Cruising down the Yangtze

From 18 July – 29 July 2010, forty artists from all over the world gathered in the small town of Ordino, Andorra to participate in the 2nd International Art Camp. I was fortunate to be selected as the Australian representative.

Some of the other countries represented were, Andorra, Austria, Burkina Faso, Spain, Portugal, Mozambique, Indonesia, The Philippines, Romania, Serbia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kuwait, Germany, France, Mauritania, Cape Verde, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Haiti, Cambodia, Seychelles and Jamaica (sorry if i’ve forgotten any).

The Art Camp was an amazing experience, not everyone spoke the same languages but we all seemed to be able to understand each other through the common language of our art. I found myself having conversations using only my eyes and facial expressions, these conversations may have taken a bit longer than usual but I was determined to understand the other artists.

The program for the art camp involved time creating artworks for the final exhibition and 3 works we could donate to UNESCO Andorra. I originally wanted to create work depicting a contrast between the landscape I am familiar with now (Yaegl landscape) and the new foreign landscape I was experiencing in Andorra. Although I managed to portray both landscapes in one of my earlier paintings, I found myself being lead by my own style of art and ended up portraying works and imagery that distinctly represent who I am.

I know that the experience I had in Andorra will somehow help shape and form a selection of the works I will create in the future, I’m not sure how just yet, but I have a feeling it will.

I must thank Aris for putting my name forward to participate in this project, Sumra for doing all the leg work in helping us get to Andorra, Jean-Michel for all your hard work and the passion you had of making this a reality, Faust for your amazing curatorial skills, all the sponsors involved in the 2010 Art Camp, UNESCO Australia for assistance with my travel, and a massive big thank you to all the artists involved, you have each enriched my experience in Andorra- i’m sure we’ll be in touch.

Work created in Andorra, July 2010

Work created in Andorra, July 2010

Work created in Andorra, July 2010

MANIFEST ART CAMP, « Colors for the Planet », Ordino 2010

We the artists of the World, state the following:

We join with the General Assembly of the United Nations, author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in proclaiming 2010 the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures.

We adhere to the objectives of making the characteristic features of our etnographic reality known to the world, with respect to the other peoples of the planet and desire to learn from them.

We will use our imagination to find the right ways of rapprochement between different cultures, preserving all the diversity that enriches our human condition.

We will play a key role in building a world where the cultural differences will not be an obstacle for understanding and solidarity between the peoples that populate the Earth.

For these reasons,We the undersigned, undertake by means of artistic expression, to promote the cultural diversity that constitutes our common heritage that we must value, to preserve the Earth for the benefit of all, and to stimulate the imagination of the people to make Earth a more peaceful, healthier and fairer place for future generations.

“Ms Frances Belle Parker’s participation in the UNESCO Andorran Art Camp is supported by the Commonwealth through the National Commission for UNESCO of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade”

ABC film crew on Ulgundahi Island July 2010

What a massive week i’ve had.

A film crew from the ABC visited Yaegl land for five days, documenting some of our stories for an upcoming series called Bloodlines (air date TBC). The series looks at 3 generations of the one family, capturing the important stories contained in the bigger family.

This episode is the Randall Bloodline, focussing on my nan (Nanny Randall – Matriarch of Maclean [deceased 2005]), my beautiful mother (Lenore – recently ordained Deacon in the Grafton Diocese), and myself (Visual Artist – my work is inspired by the stories of my mum, my nan and my Yaegl land).

During the crew’s visit, my sister’s Susan & Catherine were interviewed alongside myself. In this interview we all spoke about our childhood memories, nan and dad’s strong influence on all of us, and of course our mother.

A highlight of the trip was visiting Ulgundahi island for a day. My husband Mase accompanied us on the day, which was quite special as it was our first time back there since our 2008 wedding.

I won’t mention everything that was filmed during the 5 days (I don’t want to give away too much), but I look forward to seeing how they manage to condense so many hours of footage into one 25 minute episode.

Mase, myself and mum on the island

For ONE more week you will be able to buy an original Painting or Print saving you $100′s off the recommended retail price.

Works on offer are prints on archival paper, and acrylics on canvas and linen.

All of the prints are featured in the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia and are from an extremely limited edition, either 1/6 (lino prints) or 1/15 (etchings), so get in quick to secure yours! Many of the prints have sold out but if you get in quick there are still a few select prints left.

Please contact me for a sales list of available works. But be quick as there is only ONE week left to grab yourself a bargain!

Brooms Head 2008, lino reduction print on archival paper edition 1 of 6 © Frances Belle Parker

Angourie 2008, lino reduction print on archival paper, edition 1 of 6 © Frances Belle Parker

Lets hope they raise heaps of money for the Maclean Hospital.

Ulgundahi, My Identity 2008 etching on archival paper, edition 1 of 15

Saturday 03 July 2010

Maclean Lower Clarence Hospital Auxiliary Art, Craft and Collectibles Auction

Viewing from 10am on the day
Tickets $5 per person
Music and Nibbles 5.30 – 6.30 pm
Auction commences 7.00 pm

All Proceeds of the auction will go to the purchase of equipment for the Maclean Hospital.

Installing 'Mapping Ulgundahi' during 2008

Welcome to my blog.

Here I will inform you about my upcoming projects, exhibitions and artwork. You will have the opportunity to see a number of new works, both in progress and complete. This blog is kind of like a behind the scenes look into my arts practice.

I am currently developing my own website and through this blog I can let you know how it’s going and when it’s expected to be launched.

This blog is designed as an informal cluster of information to help anyone who’s interested in learning a bit more about my art and what inspires it.

Enjoy…

Opening this Thursday 24 June @ 2.30pm is ‘My River’ an exhibition of new small works each priced less than $250. For more details check it out in News!

My River Invitation, opening 2.30pm Thursday 24 June 2010