Design and Art Australia Online

Leigh Oates, Trawlwoolway painter, was born in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1958. Apart from two years living in Hobart as a teenager, Oates has lived in the Huon Valley, southern Tasmania, for all of his life. Oates has had a varied career, working as a fitter and turner at the University of Tasmania, a Senior Technical Officer at the Tasmanian Department of Sea Fisheries, and a Land Management Project Officer for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council. In 2008 he was employed as a Youth and Community Support Worker for the South East Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation.

A self-taught artist, Oates began painting in 2001 while he was employed as an Aboriginal Education Worker for the Department of Education. As Oates writes (in correspondence with the author) 'I first started painting after I worked with school groups; it was a way of telling and sharing stories on canvas about my life and my family’s life.’ Since then Oates has participated in a number of art projects in educational contexts. In 2004, he worked with Aboriginal students and their parents at Huonville Primary School to create two murals for the school entrance. In 2008 Oates completed a similar collaborative project with students, involving five art panels for five different schools in the Huon Valley region. These panels will be permanently displayed at the South East Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation Health and Well-being Centre.

Oates paints predominantly with acrylic and gouache, though in recent years he has also made use of ochres in his paintings. His finely worked images are inspired by his Indigenous ancestry, the stories and memories shared amongst his family, and the plant and animal life of Tasmania and the mainland. His paintings usually combine abstract and pictorial elements to portray his knowledge of the environment in symbolic ways, and he often illustrates life-cycles in the animal world in order to articulate themes of community togetherness, cooperation and growth. This approach reflects the artist’s concern with affirming the continuity and resilience of the Indigenous presence in Tasmania.

Oates has been represented by Art Mob in Hobart since 2003, and exhibitions there have have included 'Leigh and Reuben Oates Father and Son Exhibition’ (2006) and 'Bush Tucker’ (2006). Oates has also participated in the Menzies Research Institute 'Art of Christmas’ exhibition and card projects (2003 & 2007), and the 'Flavours of Australia’ exhibition at the Australian Embassy, Dubai (2003).

Writers:

Fisher, LauraNote: in consultation with the artist

Date written:

2008

Last updated:

2011