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 cultural identity, using both Aboriginal and Western techniques to unsettle categorisation.

‘Reflection Experimental (2)’ is a one-of-a-kind screenprint, the fruit of a collaboration between Onus, his son Tiriki Onus and master printmaker Shaike Snir. Onus met Snir at Port Jackson Press Australia in 1989 and they soon built an artistic rapport, spending their lunch breaks experimenting with printmaking techniques until Onus’s untimely passing in 1996. ‘Reflection Experimental (2)’ was thus begun by Onus and completed by his son in 2002, who also signed the work.

The reflection of trees on water is among Lin Onuss most iconic motifs. It serves as a reference to his ancestral country and spiritual home, the Barmah Forest along the Murray River, as well a conceptual inversion of the European panoramic landscape. Before Onus’s ‘Reflection’, we are compelled to look below the surface. The use of colour here, shifting from red to yellow, echoes the Aboriginal flag.

This screenprint is not just beautiful, it is culturally significant – a vestige of artistic collaboration, experimentation and Onus’s sensitive yet compelling eye. He was an artist whose vision was only matched by his activism, writing in 1990 that he hoped to be remembered as a “bridge between cultures, technology and ideas”. With representation across public collections and an OBE, it is undoubtable that he has.

For collectors of important Australian, Aboriginal and contemporary art, ‘Reflection Experimental (2)’ is a unique opportunity. It has an unbroken chain of provenance, is embossed with the Lin Onus Estate Stamp and signed by Tiriki Onus, a work that came into being across generations.

Lin ONUS (1948 - 1996) & Tiriki ONUS
'Reflection Experimental (2)' 2002
screenprint on paper
Edition of 1
Image Size: 53 x 78 cm
Dimensions: 60 x 84 cm
Signed: Signed in pencil in margin below image: 'Experimental print / Reflection / Onus' (signed by Tiriki Onus) and embossed with 'Lin Onus Estate' stamp in lower right
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Unique experimental print produced by Lin Onus' son Tiriki Onus from Lin Onus original plates and signed by Tiriki Onus. Excellent provenance, direct from publisher Port Jackson Press Australia.

Condition is Excellent.

(c) Lin Onus / Copyright Agency