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about the aboriginal artist
Mr. Lionel Phillips comes from the Trangie in Central Western New South Wales in Australia. His name means "waterhole" in local warradjerri Aboriginal dialect.
Lionel started sketching and painting 25 years ago. The compelling reason was to find his roots. Although he is an aboriginal, he felt lost because of his colour and was trying to find his connection with his people. He wanted to belong somewhere.
He was persuaded, some 16 years ago, by his tribal elder (King of the tribe), to express his culture and tribal history on canvas. This was, in essence, the re-birthing experience of Lionel Phillips, a journey of self-discovery. His totem is the "Rainbow Spirit" and, although Lionel paints a wide variety of subject matter depicting indegenous folklore, dreamtime and actual life experiences, there are restrictions by tribal law with which he must comply. Thus, he recounts many real life tribal rituals in his paintings, but there are many others he must never divulge as a matter of tribal custom.
A conversation with Lionel would aquaint you with many rites of initiation and tests of his manhood that he, as a boy experienced. These stories can make the hair on one's neck rise up. They also inspire him to create a body of work that is, at once, spiritual, mysterious and awesome. The Aboriginal's love and respect for the Earth and its natural bounty is very relevant today. What you see in his work is a reflection of the wisdom and tradition of the oldest known inhabitants on earth!
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