The Cape York Project, an exhibition of new and past works by Ian Waldron, centres a large privately commissioned painting, Cape York destined for the new museum at Punsand Bay, one hour’s drive from Pajinka at the very tip of Cape York. The accompanying artworks are an expression of the commissioner Cameron McTavish’s passion for Cape York and Waldron’s representations of histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, colonial exploration, exploitation and land use, the mammoth feat of the construction of the telegraph line (Laura to Thursday Island), and the pearl diving industry.

The Cape York Project is an ode to both the First Nations and colonial histories of the tip as well as the natural environment. McTavish describes Waldron as “a true son of Cape York”. Despite the location of his homeland, Delta Downs on the Gulf of Carpentaria, the artist has a strong connection to the Cape, the histories and cultures of the region. Waldron’s classic styles are revisited in this exhibition. Painted words in Aboriginal language, colourful bloodwood totems, locales of historical significance, black cockatoos and black and white figurative scenes populate a rich and quintessentially “Waldron” exhibition.

Upstairs, On the Land (mini-survey) is a retrospective glance at four of Waldron’s ongoing series: On the Land, Back on the Land, Seduction Suite and Bloodwood Totems. The exhibition demonstrates the vastness of the artist’s oeuvre. Continuous themes in Waldron’s career, Bloodwood Totems and Black Cockatoos among other subject matter, are exhibited both on canvas and in sculpture. 

Two powerful influences on his life, his Kurtjar heritage, and the Western art world are brought together in an intriguing juxtaposition throughout the artist’s work. Paintings depicting a Gulf Country cattle station and Kurtjar language speak to deep connections with Waldron’s country and culture in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The artist describes Seduction Suite, a series of classic, sometimes sardonic Australian food advertisements, saying that, “I have always maintained you catch more flies with honey, and I like to seduce the viewer, giving them a pleasurable experience while simultaneously communicating personal and cultural imperatives”. McTavish maintains Waldron’s comfortability with both Western and First Nations subject matter; the artist’s place in and understanding of both worlds as, “evident in his art, involving traditional and western technique, making his work highly original and easily recognisable from across the room”.

Gallery Director Michael Eather comments that, “Both exhibitions offer audiences a broad range of insights into the hybrid world of Ian Waldron: a truly unique artist and individual who has remarkably, over three decades, continued adding to a compelling body of work”.