Grevillea Venusta – Grevillea, from the series Intertwined

Dylan Mooney, a proud Yuwi, Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait and South Sea Islander man from Yuwibara/Mackay, is recognised for his unique blending of digital technology and drawing to celebrate resilience of First Nations people, resistance to colonisation and enduring connections to culture. He typically explores community stories, current affairs, and contemporary queer culture with Indigenous artefacts and storytelling. He has also recently turned his attention to portraits that looks at his South Sea islander heritage, rendering images of Ancestors in black pen, graphite, and sugar.

Dylan began his career in digital illustration born from his passion as a drawer; ‘I work in these mediums because I love to draw’, says the artist. ‘When I first started my art practice, I was a drawer and that was a stepping stone into my other mediums such as printmaking and digital illustrations.’

In these digital works Mooney has highlighted the continuation of culture, the resistance of Ancestors and Country to introduced species, and ongoing, enduring connections to Country. Mooney’s works extend from his immediate Australian Indigenous Ancestry, to explore the shared experiences of oppression and resistance of First Nations peoples in a collective sense, from so-called Australia to the Zenadth Kes to the Great Ocean (South Pacific).