Way To Go!

Artist Ian Wayne Abdulla (1947 - 2011)

Date1997

Object number00031063

NameScreenprint

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 396 x 370 mm, 0.05 kg
Sheet: 396 x 370 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA screen print by Ian Abdulla titled 'Way to go!' and depicts the Australian swimmer Kieren Perkins after his victory in the 1500m freestyle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. The print is inscribed 'Kieren Perkins Points the way after his great win in the 1500 freestyle'. One of a folio of 12 prints by Indigenous artists commissioned by the Olympic Arts Festivals of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games in association with Studio One. HistoryThe Origins portfolio began as a proposal to the Cultural Olympiad in 1995 by the Studio One Printmakers Workshop in Canberra to produce a group of works that would reflect the changes that had happened to Australia's Indigenous population in the 41 years since the Olympic games were last held in Australia. In that time, Aboriginal people had gone from being non-citizens to making a strong impact in the social and political arena often with Indigenous artists at the forefront to explain the issues through art. In 1997, 14 artists were commissioned by the Festival of the Dreaming in association with Studio One National Print Workshop with the aim of celebrating the art of indigenous printmaking. Workshops were held in Canberra as well as in remote rural communities. The diversity of indigenous lifestyles is reflected in the choice of artists commissioned. Artists were selected from- the desert regions of Central Australia, the Kimberley in Western Australia, Arnhem Land, Bathurst Island, Badu Island in the Torres Strait to urban and rural Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. The subjects chosen by the artists for their prints vary greatly but most deal with the marine environment. Included in the collection are - Ian Abdulla's print of swimmer Kieran Perkins, Lawrence Leslie's aerial view of his country on the Mehi River, Dennis Nona's men fishing, Abie Jangala's freshwater spring in the desert and Queenie McKenzie's saltwater creek. Kieran Perkins is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medal winner in the 1500 metre Men's Freestyle event at the 1992 Barcelona games, 1996 Atlanta games and a silver medallist in the same event at the Sydney 2000 games. Atlanta was particularly symbolic as Perkins had suffered a number of health and performance obstacles in the lead up to the games and only just managed to qualify for the Australian Olympic team. Once in Atlanta Perkins did not qualify for his other events, the 200 and 400 metre Men's Freestyle and then only managed to qualify as the slowest swimmer for the 1500 metre. Yet in the final, Perkins managed to dominate the race and became the first Australian since swimmer Dawn Fraser to successfully defend an Olympic championship. SignificanceOne of a set of twelve prints entitled 'Origins' commissioned by the Olympic Arts Festival of the Sydney organising committee for the Olympic games in association with Studio One Inc.
The marine environment is very important to Indigenous Australia.The spiritual link with water and the question of who owns water resources is reflected in the subject matter of most of the prints in the 'Origins' folio.