Albert Digby Moran (1948–2020) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. His work derived inspiration from his Bundjalung ancestors in the north of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, where he remains one of the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly Regions of New South Wales, region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence Ri ...

' most recognised artists.

Life

Digby Moran grew up on

Cabbage Tree Island Cabbage Tree Island may refer to three locations in New South Wales, Australia: * Cabbage Tree Island, New South Wales, a settlement in Ballina Shire * Cabbage Tree Island (John Gould Nature Reserve), an island and nature reserve near Port Stephe ...

on the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may ...

, Australia. His father was a member of the

Dunghutti The Djangadi people, also spelt Dhungatti, Dainggati, Tunggutti or Dunghutti are an Aboriginal Australian people resident in the Macleay River, Macleay Valley of northern New South Wales. Language Dhanggati language, Dhanggati / Dunghutti bel ...

race and his mother a Bundjalung. His grandfather, Robert Moran, was a wood carver and from an early age Digby worked with him, making boomerangs and walking sticks. In his early adult years he worked as an agricultural cane cutter and also as a boxer with Jimmy Sharman's touring troupe. Eventually Moran returned to that first love of his people's art and completed a

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

arts course in 1991. After a nationally and internationally recognised career as a visual artist, Moran died in Lismore in January 2020.

Work

An early work, 'Lizard and Snake' was made for the Lismore branch of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, depicting the creation story of the Goanna headland at Evans Head. In 2006, Moran held an exhibition ''Memories of the island'' exhibited at the Tweed River Art Gallery. Moran's work was represented in the ''I saw the sun - east coast'' exhibition at the Lismore Regional Gallery in 2007 together with Jenny Fraser, Frances Belle Parker, Fiona Foley,

Ian Abdulla Ian Abdulla (1947 – 29 January 2011) was an Aboriginal Australian contemporary artist. A Ngarrindjeri man who grew up on the banks of the Murray in South Australia, he has been called Australia's greatest naive artist. Early life Abdulla w ...

and Vincent Serico. Most of Moran's work was lost in the Lismore floods of 2017. However in 2018 the Lismore Art Gallery presented an exhibition of his work, 'Growing Up on the Island' which enhanced his reputation as one of Australia's foremost Indigenous artists. He was commissioned to paint murals by Woolworths in River Street, Ballina, in 2014; and at St Joseph's School, Woodburn, in 2019. He was granted a solo exhibition at the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wale ...

in 2010. Internationally, Digby Moran exhibited at: * Berlin Aboriginal Art Gallery (2001/2) * Vienna New Media Gallery (2003) * Museum Hamelyn, Germany: 'Energy of the Earth' (2004) * Duisburg, Germany (2009) * Emmerich, Germany (2009) Digby was a frequent guest at schools, working with children in art education. In later years he worked in a support role at the Namatjira Haven, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre.

Awards

* People's Choice Award, National Aboriginal and Islander Telstra Art Award , Northern Territory Art Gallery, Darwin (2000) * Finalist, The New South Wales Parliament Aboriginal Art Prize 2011 and 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Digby 1948 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Australian painters Australian contemporary artists Australian Aboriginal artists