Title

Nona, Dennis.

Author

Australian Art Print Network.

Source

[Not applicable]

Publication date

2001

Type

Biography

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Dennis Nona

Dennis Nona was born in 1973 on Waiden (Thursday Island) in the Torres Strait and spent his childhood at his family home on Badu (Mulgrave Island). Nona finished his secondary studies in Cairns, where he also completed his Associate Diploma of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Visual Art at the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE. It was here that he began to interpret his cultural creation stories onto linocut prints and started his artistic career. From the beginning, Nona’s work was recognised as the first to create such fine and intricately carved lines using traditional markings. He was encouraged to further his studies and in 1995 began his Bachelor of Fine Art (Printmaking) at the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University.

Since graduating, he has undertaken a number of residencies and held solo and group exhibitions. The symbols he uses are influenced by Torres Strait traditions and coastal Papuan art that has largely influenced the region through trading items, such as drums. In 2000, Nona established a print workshop, the Mualgal Minaral Arts Centre, on Mua Island and formed an artist collective as part of the workshop. New South Wales based printmaker Theo Tremblay has been assisting with both the business and printmaking side of this project.

Nona’s work is held in the collections of the State Gallery of South Australia; regional galleries and private collections in Australia and overseas. Recent examples of his work produced at the Mualgau Minaral Artist Centre workshop are travelling with other collective artists in their first exhibition, Gelam Nguzu Kazi – Dugong My Son, which will tour Australian regional galleries and overseas venues from 2001 to 2004.

Biography prepared with the assistance of the Australian Art Print Network, 2001.

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