Drought and Flooding Rains

Wayne Quilliam's heritage as an Indigenous Australian informs his view of the environment.

Drought and Flooding Rains is a suite of work that gives an Indigenous perspective on Dorothea MacKellar’s famous poem ‘My Country’ first published in 1908 in London. The famous poem is believed to have been directly inspired by witnessing the break of a drought. Quilliam sees both the sky and the earth from a unified position due to his Indigenous spiritual beliefs which is in contrast to a European view of the land, which although loved, is often in conflict with a European agenda.

These photographs (reproduced as light boxes) were taken in Point Cook and can be viewed at Wyndham Cultural Centre.

About the Artist

Wayne Quilliam is a professional Aboriginal Photographer/Artist and for more 20 years has lived and worked with Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people in a variety of ways including social documentation and the arts.  His unique style encompasses the spiritual and artistic dimensions of Aboriginal culture and his art is transformed through traditional and modern practices including developing a worlds first technique that infuses the artwork with traditional ochre’s and plant dyes. 

Wayne is highly sought after by Australian and International organizations’ to product culturally appropriate images that accurately represent his people.  He was named the 2009 NAIDOC Artist of the Year and won the 2009 ‘Human Rights Award’ for his work on the ‘Apology’, the winner of the prestigious Walkley Awards for his social documentary on the ‘block’ in Redfern, Sydney and nominated as a master of photography by National Geographic in 2010.

Over the past 20 years he has held exhibitions in Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne and Hobart and internationally in Austria, England, Mexico, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Japan, France, USA and Germany including being one of the first artists in the world to exhibit in Germanys 3 major airports.