A Spiritual Connection – Graham Toomey

Graham Toomey combines Aboriginal imagery with modern motifs in A Spiritual Connection.

The reds, blacks and whites of his pieces leap off the canvas with startling force. However, it is the contrast of dark silhouettes floating upon a kaleidoscopic vision of sky, redolent of the view from the Hubble telescope, which makes them unique.

In Dreaming Warriors, shadows perch on a tightrope stretched across the stars, walking a bridge between old and new, and in Dreamworld, animals surf on slices of white netted clouds barely aware of the earth below.

The paintings are complemented by bird sculptures with eyes that gaze warily at the onlooker, their striped wings seemingly ready to fly.

Toomey’s works are inspired by his ancestors and they are bathed in the light of a creative spirit which spontaneously tumbles from the heavens. Startling and honest, they are a monumental fusion of traditional and modern Australian art. (LR)

Until Jul 26, Art Atrium, 181 Old South Head Rd, Bondi Junction, free, artatrium.com.au