Blacklock and Edwards

10 April – 27 June, 2010

Fabri Blacklock and Chris Edwards bring three Aboriginal cultures to their partnership and art practice, and as artists carry on stories handed down to them by their Elders.

Together, they chose Penrith as a good place to bring up a young family, also allowing Fabri the opportunity to further her education and Chris to establish himself in the building industry – and to further their burgeoning art practice.
A strong spiritual connection to the land is evident in their paintings and the traditional designs they have worked into an equisite range of hand tufted, pure Australian wool rugs. Working from their home, has allowed them to launch Wirriimbi Designs, their inimitable internationally recognized company.

Fabri Blacklock: is a descendant of the Biripi people from Dingo Creek and the Ngarabal people from Glen Innes and Tingha in northern NSW. Fabri’s artworks reflect the landscape and love of her country. She has been painting for the past twelve years. For five years she worked as an educator in schools teaching Aboriginal art and culture from primary to high school students. She also worked as Assistant Curator of Koori History and Culture at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney for over eight years. Her works are held in many private collections. Her artworks are inspired from recorded oral histories she has conducted with her Elders’ over the past few years.

Chris (Wirriimbi) Edwards: is a descendant of the Gumbaynggir people from Nambucca Heads in northern NSW. His work is inspired by the landscape of Nambucca Heads where he grew up. Chris has been painting for five years and draws his inspiration for his paintings from significant places and stories told to him by his Elders of his Koori heritage like the Nambucca fish traps. Chris has developed a unique style of painting where he mixes sand from a sacred beach in Nambucca Heads with modern materials like acrylic paint to tell his stories. Through his work the Gumbaynggir stories will stay entrenched in the communities for generations to come.