Evelyn Omeenyo and Patrick Butcher Jnr Exhibition

The Art Gang

Lockhart River Arts Indigenous Corporation is a prominent Indigenous Australian art centre located on the eastern side of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.

Lockhart River Arts Centre was established in 1995. The establishment of the Art Centre was influenced in part by a group of young artists just out of school who together became known as “The Art Gang”. The artists of Lockhart River Art Centre have been recognised for many years both nationally and internationally as “The Art Gang”.  

Painters, weavers and crafters at the art centre include “The Old Girls”, a respected group of elders who have also taken the art world by storm with their vibrant artworks. Their works is amongst the country’s most collectables. Also included are younger contemporary artists who have been the recipients of art prizes and awards, and whose works are included in major public and private collections.  Some of the artists have passed on overtime but their legacy, traditional values and cultural heritage has left a footprint through their artworks, most of which have been sold out and are now in public and private collections.

Lockhart River Art

Evelyn Omeenyo

Evelyn Jane Omeenyo was born in April 1944 at old Lockhart River mission, south of Cape Direction. She is from Lockhart River in Queensland Australia. She comes from the Kanthanampu language group. Her paintings are themed around Country, culture, traditional stories and way of life. She is mother to another established Lockhart River artist Josiah Omeenyo and sister to another Lockhart River artist Margery Accoom. She is naturally talented. Evelyn also weaves traditional baskets and dilly bags. She also does ceramic birds and paints with passion and creativity. In 2015, her ceramic birds themed “Flock of Thinta – Parrots” was shortlisted in the Telstra Indigenous Art Awards. Evelyn has exhibited in Lockhart River group exhibitions in Houston Texas USA, Cairns, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and Darwin. Her works have also been featured under copyright licensing agreements in OXFAM Australia’s annual Christmas catalogue for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. 

Patrick Butcher Jnr

Patrick W Butcher Jnr was born in January 1977 and comes from the Umpila language group. He was part of the early group of artists in the mid 1990’s that formed the Lockhart River Art Gang. Whilst developing his artistic skills, Patrick joined the Australian Army Reserves. He exited the Army after a period to concentrate on his arts as a full-time artist resident in Lockhart River.

Patrick’s works are a contemporary take on a range of subjects which he pre-thinks before starting his works. His work is a combination of links to his strong cultural traditions, land, sea and language heritage. Patrick paints with his left and right hands, He does not use brushes do  works. He is the only current artist within the Lockhart River Art Gang that uses his hands to paint.

Patrick paints with acrylic on canvas and linen. Patrick has done batik and lino-printing works using cross hatching techniques. He has also done small scale beginners pottery works.
 
Since 1997 to early 2018, Patrick Butcher has had his works exhibited in Lockhart River Group exhibitions in Hobart Tasmania, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Houston Texas USA.

From 3 June 2018 to 28 October 2018, Patrick’s works will be exhibited in a permanent collection at Foundation Burkhardt-Felder et Culture Musee de l’art aboriegene australien “La grange” in Switzerland.

 

When