National NAIDOC - Poster Competition Winner

NAIDOC 2008 Poster Competition Winning Entry by Duwun (Anthony) and Laniyuk (Ian) Lee.

 Duwun (Anthony) and Laniyuk (Ian) Lee are Larrakia men that were born and raised in Darwin, two of 11 biological and four adopted children of Herbert and Mary Lee.

Duwun was taught traditional Aboriginal painting technique as a young boy and has been painting for most of his life. Duwun has great knowledge of various forms of artistic expression and has learnt traditional techniques from many parts of the country including Arnhem Land, Western Australia and Central Australia.

He has travelled around the world learning, teaching and exhibiting his art works. He has been a finalist of the Telstra Aboriginal Art Awards five times (and aiming for number six this year). Duwun is currently working with Balunu Foundation’s (www.balunu.org.au) Cultural Healing Camp, assisting with cultural activities like making spears and shields and teaching art.

Laniyuk has less experience with traditional Aboriginal art work and is developing a distinctive style using traditional and contemporary images in a digital format. Laniyuk has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science from the University of Canberra. He is currently working at Charles Darwin University in Information Technology Management Support.

The brothers have a unique collaborative approach to creating their artworks. Duwun does many of the designs, using ink, pencil or paint on paper or canvas. Laniyuk then scans the designs on the computer and converts them into a digital format that can be modified as they progress.

“Throughout the whole process we are continually discussing all aspects of the design including the colours and what they represent, the lines and shapes and the location of components,” says Laniyuk.

The brothers have a passion for Aboriginal issues. Both have worked with many Aboriginal organisations and been on numerous governing committees of organisations.

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