Fiona Omeenyo

Fiona Omeenyo was born in August 1981 in the Lockhart River area in Queensland. Fiona appeared on the contemporary art scene in the late 1990s as part of the original 'Art Gang' - first exhibiting her work in 1998. Fiona had her first solo show in 2001 in Broome, Western Australia. Her work was featured in 'Story Place: Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest' at the Queensland Art Gallery in 2003.

Fiona paints ancestral spirits and themes her other works on the Parrot Sisters Story from her Country. She developed her painting skills during the formative years of Lockhart River's arts emergence in the 90's and has established a solid footprint within Australia and the international art space specific to Indigenous Australian Art.

The Quinkin figures found in Sandbeach rock art dominate Fiona's art and reveals the Lockhart River Mob's new thinking about traditions and conventions: how Indigenous Australian cultural traditions are regenerated and renewed. Fiona is very skilled in conveying how the past is embedded in the present, with many of her figures appearing to emanate from the stream of life running behind them.

Fiona describes her works as "I'm painting about traditional family and everyday things. I still remember my home and country through my painting even though you don't have many elders or family around you to tell you new stories. No matter where you go, you're still carrying these stories and memories for a life-time".

Fiona's work has been widely exhibited in Australian galleries since winning her first art award in 2001. She has had over 15 solo exhibitions and more than 40 group exhibitions, as well as being represented in many private and public collections.

Statement

"I'm a member of the Lockhart River Art Gang. We're a group of Aboriginal Artists from the east coast of Cape York in Far North Queensland. I mainly do paintings on canvas, although sometimes I do printing and sculpture. The paintings I'm painting now are about traditional family and everyday things. I paint about my home and country through my painting. No matter where you go, you're still carrying the stories that elders and family tell you and memories for a life-time."