“For Michael Philp, home is the Caldera. The land that stretches from beneath Wollumbin or Mt. Warning following the Tweed River down from Murwillumbah to Cudgen, Chinderah, Fingal and Duranbah and out to the ocean. The path of the river maps the home of Michael’s people. Son to a white fisherman and a Murri woman, Michael grew up in the Caldera indigenous community and landscape. These new paintings are a personal history and represent his relationship with his people, home and country. It is not easy to describe the salt water’s significance to Michael but it is critical to the expression of his personal history. This new work explores the deep network that exists between the inner wells of memory, self and the physical country. The subjects and their personal relationships are like appendages that grow upon the coast, contained within a singular interconnected ecosystem both physical and emotional. The saltwater, the coast, its rivers and ocean all figure, not as a setting for the life of an individual or community, but as an actual working part of identity, personal and collective. The series is as much portrait as landscape. The simplicity of application together with bold expanses of pigment reach a raw cadence of potent symbolism.”
Michael Philp, My Saltwater Murris, DACOU Northern Rivers, Alstonville, until December 15, 2012
Same last name. I have run into a couple of people on the other side of the world with my name. I enjoyed seeing your work. My folks are from West Africa and Wales. The beat goes on. Keep up the good work. What materials are you using: e.g. arylic, oil. If you don’t mind what are the sizes of your work. Cheers.