Design and Art Australia Online

Waanyi artist, Gordon Hookey was born on the 2nd February 1961 in Cloncurry, Queensland. Hookey says he began painting in Grade One and has remained an artist ever since. Hookey worked as a labourer before moving to Sydney in the late 1980s to enrol in a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW. Whilst at COFA Hookey became an artist member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Cooperative, then located in the inner city suburb of Redfern. He completed his degree in 1992.

Hookey’s early paintings addressed many of the past injustices inflicted upon Aboriginal people. According to Dr Joseph Pugliese who wrote about Hookey for the 2004 Sydney Biennale catalogue, 'Reason and Emotion’, his style “cuts across generic boundaries and aesthetic styles – where the conventions of history painting, protest art, cartoons, pop art, graffiti, surrealism and mural art converge on a single canvas.”

Hookey began exhibiting immediately upon graduation and in 1993 he exhibited his work in 'Dante in Australia’ at the Centro Deantesco in Ravenna, Italy. In 1995 he exhibited in 'Native Title’, at Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Adelaide. Hookey’s reputation as a political artist began to grow from 1996 and the increasing appreciation and respect within the Aboriginal arts community for his work was confirmed in 1997 when festival producer Rhoda Roberts invited Hookey to participate in 'Off-Shore, On-Site’ for the 'Festival of the Dreaming’ – the first Cultural Olympiad for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 'Off-Shore, On-Site’ was a group residency and exhibition of international Indigenous artists hosted by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in South Western Sydney. Casula Powerhouse subsequently commissioned him, along with New Zealand based Samoan artist Andy Leilei, to participate in a 1998 residency and exhibition titled 'Furious’ which was part of the 2nd Pacific Wave Festival.

Hookey’s works King Hit (for Queen and Country); Brick Shithouse and Ten Point Scam were included in the 2000 Adelaide Biennale exhibition 'Beyond the Pale’, which was curated by Brenda L Croft included and it was at this time that Hookey’s practice began to gain notoriety and the attention of the print media. Bruce James, art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald declared of Hookey’s work in 'Beyond the Pale’ on the11th March 2000, that he “wanted the Queen of Australia just as I want John Howard, her Prime Minister, to see Hookey’s scalding canvases and constructions, the sting in the tail of the show.”

Hookey’s 2003 work Sacred Nation, scared nation, indoctrination was included in the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition, 'Colour Power’, that opened at the Ian Potter Centre in Federation Square in November, 2004. This large three-panel piece speaks, among other things, of the wanton destruction of pristine environments by the government of the United States of America in its search for oil and of the Australian government’s complicity in such behaviour. This work, when first acquired and displayed in 2004 by the NGV, was the subject of much discussion in the local Melbourne tabloid press, which led to the then Victorian Liberal Opposition Arts Spokesman, Mr Andrew Olexander calling for its removal from display.

2004 Sydney Biennale curator Isabel Carlos included Hookey’s 2004 work, Paranoia Annoy Ya in this international event. A large installation piece, it was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art and participating in the biennale afforded Hookey an audience he never had before.

In 2005 Hookey showcased his new exhibition, 'www.gordonhoo.com’ at the gallery of his new dealer, Nellie Castan in Melbourne and in 2007 Brisbane gallery Bellas Milani Gallery began to represent him also.

In 2006 Hookey had three arts residencies – one for the Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand, one at Melbourne’s Gertrude Street Contemporary Art Space and the third at the Banff Centre in Canada. The Canadian residency was partly funded through the Australia Council for the Arts. 2007 saw Hookey participate in the National Gallery of Australia’s 1st National Indigenous Art Triennal, 'Culture Warriors’ curated by Brenda Croft. Hookey continues to create work that responds to the national events and policies that affect Aboriginal people and since 2001 his work has begun to comment increasingly on international events such as 'The War on Terror’ and global warming.

Even though Hookey returned to live in Queensland in 2002, he remains a member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative and in 2006 he became an active member of the Brisbane-based Aboriginal arts group, ProppaNOW. Other Brisbane artists involved with ProppaNOW include, Richard Bell, Laurie Nilson, Jennifer Herd, Bianca Beetson and Vernon Ah Kee.

Writers:

Allas, TessNote:

Date written:

2007

Last updated:

2011

Status:

peer-reviewed