This past week saw Wiradjuri man Darren Charlwood undertake the second Artist in Residence stay as part of an on-going partnership between Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative x YHA Australia.
The Artist in Residence programme comprises part of YHA’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). YHA Australia’s goal is to deeply embed cultural learning throughout the YHA network and to share with their community of travellers. Rubyrose Bancroft was the first artist to undertake a Residence at YHA Harbour – The Rocks in 2022.
During Darren’s time on-property he worked on a series of paintings on canvas inspired by the rivers and mountains of the Country he knows so well around Katoomba, along with other commissions. He hosted a weaving workshop, local bushwalk and artist talk on-property as opportunities to engage with travellers.
Darren is from Wiradjuri Country, Wellington in New South Wales. The town is called binjang in language and he is part of the Yibaay Wagaan kin group or eagle crow mob.
Darren began painting at a young age; however, it was not until 10 years ago that he began painting full time. Darren’s art is deeply rooted in his experience as a Wiradjuri man, a father, a son and a member of the urban Aboriginal community of Sydney’s Inner West. He also draws heavily from his cultural knowledge of the environment and the Wiradjuri use of lines and patterns.
Darren’s work is his expression of Aboriginality and reflects his political perspectives in the resistance of Aboriginal people against colonial oppression and dispossession. His art reflects the survival and adaptation of his people when faced with invasion and the sudden and violent change to their environment which came with it. The continuation of cultural practice is a protest in itself, as reflected in the endurance of the voices of Aboriginal people in Australia.
He is also a ranger for National Parks and Wildlife Blue Mountains where he shares his cultural knowledge in the bush relying on what he has been taught through oral traditions. Additionally he is a Cultural Educator for the Royal Botanical Gardens Sydney where he educates school groups as well as tourists and the general public, providing insights into the Indigenous history of the Sydney basin, but more broadly New South Wales.
