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 developed a distinctive visual language that brought Aboriginal and Western techniques into dialogue, challenging easy ideas of cultural identity and artistic categorisation.

After being expelled from school at fourteen because of racism, Onus worked as a mechanic and activist before teaching himself to draw. He went on to forge a remarkable style combining photorealism, surrealism and Indigenous iconography. His art reflected both his complex cultural heritage and his deeply held belief in reconciliation over alienation.

In ‘Dislocation – Yellow’, an Aboriginal child appears fragmented into geometric sections. The disorientating effect evokes the fracturing of Aboriginal communities through dispossession, violence and oppression. Yet clasped in the child’s hand is a sprig of flowering wattle — a quietly potent symbol of resilience and hope in the face of adversity.

Adding another layer of significance, this edition was printed posthumously by Onus’s son, the artist and academic Tiriki Onus, from Lin Onus’s original plates. The work therefore carries not only Lin’s artistic vision, but a tangible connection between generations: an artwork continuing to speak through the hands of his son.

Detailed, multi-coloured and impeccably composed, ‘Dislocation – Yellow’ testifies to an artist whose artistic vision was matched by his commitment to social change. In 1990, Onus wrote that he hoped to be remembered as a “bridge between cultures, technology and ideas.” His legacy has more than fulfilled that ambition, with his work held in major Australian collections and his contribution recognised with an OBE.

For collectors of significant Australian, Aboriginal and contemporary art, ‘Dislocation – Yellow’ offers an opportunity to acquire a work that speaks not only to the complexity of Australian identity, but to the enduring transmission of an artist’s ideas from one generation to the next.

Lin & Tiriki ONUS (1948 - 1996)
'Dislocation - Yellow' 2000
screenprint on paper
Edition of 20
Image Size: 60 x 36 cm
Dimensions: 108 x 81 x 2 cm
Signed: Signed 'Onus' by Tiriki Onus, titled, and numbered in pencil in margin below image: 20/20 Dislocation—Yellow Onus; bears the seal of The Estate of Lin Onus lower right.
Comes with Letter of Provenance
This print was produced by Lins son Tiriki Onus from Lin Onus original plates.
Condition: artwork excellent; frame used
(c) Lin & Tiriki Onus / Copyright Agency