Lin Onus, a Yorta Yorta artist of Aboriginal and Scottish descent, represents a singular voice in Australia’s cultural life. Esteemed for his wit, talent and panache, Onus’s work is a negotiation of culture identity, using both Aboriginal and Western techniques to unsettle categorisation.

After being racistly expelled from school at age fourteen, Onus worked as a mechanic and activist, before teaching himself to draw. He forged a style that combined photo-realism, surrealism and indigenous iconography. Not only was this reflective of his heritage, it also represented his attitude at large, which championed reconciliation over alienation.

Recognisably Onus, ‘Collaborations’ is a quietly profound work. It comprises two black rectangles set against a charcoal backdrop. The black planes are patterned with winding red veins that recall blood beneath a microscope, land from above and threads. Through the work’s title, ‘Collaborations’ invokes unexpected meetings: blood and water, the past and future and the organic against the abstract.

Detailed, multi-coloured and impeccably composed, ‘Collaborations’ testifies to an artist whose artistic vision was only matched by his activism. Caught between different worlds, Onus wrote in 1990 that he hoped to be remembered as a “bridge between cultures, technology and ideas”. With representation in most major Australian collections and an OBE, it is undoubtable that he has. ‘Collaborations’ is the only signed edition of its kind.

For collectors of important Australian, Aboriginal and contemporary art, give your collection new life with this delicate beauty.

Lin ONUS (1948 - 1996)
'Collaborations' 1994
Screenprint on paper
Image Size: 74 x 113 cm
Dimensions: 81 x 121 cm
Signed: Signed, titled, and inscribed in pencil in margin below image: x6 Collaborations Lin Onus. This is the only signed and titled screen print of its kind.
Comes with Letter of Provenance.

Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art’s image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to paint surface.

© Lin Onus / Copyright Agency 2022