According to cultural practitioner and artist Dean Biŋkin Tyson (Quandamooka and Gurang), painting the body – in accordance with a particular story, Country, place and lore – is a ritual act of adornment and mark making. Being ‘painted up’ with ochre and pigment is a privilege. It is also the embodiment of culture and an act of resistance. These minimalist and abstract designs surpass applications to the human form: we paint up our artefacts, our stories, our past and our future.
Despite only recently dedicating to a full-time visual art practice, this body of work has been informed by decades of performing in southeast Queensland as a dancer, song man and playing bidiyamundu (the Goori word for didgeridoo). In this exhibition, the markings of his elders are held with the highest of esteem; and here, Biŋkin generously shares some of the unique markings and stories of yulu burri ba – the people belonging to sand and sea.
This exhibition is part of a three-year project of artist-residency style exhibitions and activations, collectively titled CREATE EXCHANGE.
CREATE EXCHANGE is supported by Haymans Electrical and Data Suppliers, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) and Redland Art Gallery | Redland City Council.
RAG, Cleveland
TUESDAY 7 APRIL –
TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2026
Opening Event:
11am, Sunday 12 April 2026
Panel Talk:
10am, Sunday 31 May 2026
Full Workshop and Event Program
Exhibition continues at:
RAG, The Mezz at RPAC, Cleveland
MONDAY 23 MARCH –
FRIDAY 29 MAY 2026
Artist, Dean Biŋkin Tyson, on Country, 2026 (Still). Image courtesy of Seth LeBrese.
