Dwayne Edwards

Kunja

Dwayne Edwards is a descendant of the Kunja people whose traditional land is around Cunnamulla, but he lives and works in Bourke. Dwayne’s art is a contemporary blend of traditional styles and new techniques. His work describes landscape and fauna, and is layered with meaning.

“I got taught about 10 years ago by Brian Smith, he got me started, and I just kept going from there”.

Working on a range of mediums including canvas,art-board, ochre paint and acrylic. Dwayne’s art hangs in local galleries in Bourke where is happy to talk to visitors about his work, and about his life.

“When I’m not doing anything I will stay at home and paint. I just got into it by trying to stay out of trouble, if I had time on my hands and was just doing nothing, then I would start to paint”.

Dwayne’s art has linkages to important places in the landscape. The communities of Bourke and Brewarrina are regularly featured through traditional symbols, and the radiating lines out from the river lines describe how important this resource has always been to Aboriginal people.

“I tell stories about traditional things, like hunting and fishing. I use traditional symbols that represent the communities along the river, and the river itself”.

Something of an entrepreneur, Dwayne saw an opportunity to create a gallery space in Bourke in a disused section of the Men’s Shed. In prime location near a popular tourist draw card, Dwayne displays his work and talks to travellers about his life, Bourke, and of course, his art.

“I saw that nothing was happening here so I just brought a painting down and sat it on a chair – it sold straight away so I just kept bringing paintings down here to brighten up the place – and they keep selling”.