For both my Tiwi people and my global family I want culture to be strong. If you don’t have culture, you fall and have to fight to reconnect. Without culture we are all lost…. I hold the Western and Aboriginal law in my hands for all humankind to be equal. I have to balance both laws. I have been through many obstacles in order for my words to be heard.
Johnathon World Peace Bush

Johnathon World Peace Bush lived for many years in Borroloola, a remote fishing village upriver from the Gulf of Carpentaria, where his father is from. In more recent times he has lived in Milikapiti on the Tiwi Islands, the home of his mother and family. Johnathon is part of the Bush family, whose country is Andranangoo (Goose Creek), on the north coast of Melville Island.

Bush is an Artist with a singular vision. Engaging with global politics, family, cultural heritage and the impacts of colonisation, his work is defined by its unique compositional structure and overtly political nature. His message is focussed and consistent: through the act of painting, he expresses his belief and commitment to world peace and hope for a world that lives in harmony.

Painting for just over five years, he has quickly become known for his collaging of traditional mark-making with figurative images sourced from Western art history, religious iconography and photos of his ancestors. His unique amalgamation of imagery addresses his connection to Country, the complex history of the missionaries, and an acknowledgement of the diverse cultural influences that have shaped his life and that of his community.

Like his artistic peers, Bush’s work is grounded in Country and Tiwi culture. The choice to work with only local natural ochres connects the Artist to the same land walked on, and colours used by, his ancestors. Bush’s individual Jilamara, Tiwi body paint design, is used liberally from corner to corner, in backgrounds, and figures alike, across every canvas.

Everything that came before makes the present is Bush’s first institutional solo exhibition. Bringing together sixteen major works, the exhibition explores his interest in global politics, family, and cultural heritage through the lens of three key themes: religion, colonisation, personal histories and Culture. Installed in built house-like structures, the exhibition is an invitation for us to join Bush in the safety of a familiar space – the home, a church, or a meeting place – to reflect on what we have in common, and what we can share with and learn from each other. The exhibition is a place for open conversations, so that together we can walk side by side towards an enduring world peace.