A Queensland artist is forging a unique new art style that blends comic-style characters and contemporary queer culture with ancient Indigenous artefacts and storytelling.
Kids would say to Dylan Mooney when he was at high school, "You're too white to be Aboriginal".
"People would always say … 'how can you be white, both your parents are black?'" Mooney said.
But at home, there was no doubt about who he was.
"My mother would always tell me, 'you're Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander. You've got three cultures, represent them all'," Mooney said.
"[She] would always say, 'you're Indigenous no matter what'.
Mooney is a proud Yuwi, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander man from Mackay in North Queensland. Armed with a rich cultural upbringing, Mooney now translates the knowledge and stories passed down to him, through art.
"I guess it is an extension of myself and where I would like to be as a First Nations person," he said.
"For me it's about telling that story of resilience, thriving, survival, how far we've come as a people, what we've achieved … and where will we be in the future?"
Mooney's work involved digital and hand-drawn illustrations and public murals, with commissions allowing him to make a living from his passion.
'They're stuck in this colonial space.'
As a part of his practice, Mooney researched archival documents, images and objects, and incorporated accurate reconstructions within his illustrations.
"I've got a good relationship with the Queensland Museum, so I've been going back and forth there just researching our artefacts, our traditional shields, our boomerangs, our spears," he said.
"They're stuck in this colonial space, untouched."
Mooney said he, and many of his people, had never seen some of the objects before.
Art helped to deliver the pieces of history back to his people, and resurrect them to be viewed by modern Australia.
Sexuality and acceptance were also messages important for Mooney to include.
"I am a queer man, and it's great to be able to put that into my artworks to show my identity within my work," he said.
"I didn't have to come out to my family.
"I think mum had an idea, she just asked me and I said yes.
"So it's been great to have that encouragement and support from my family."
The characters featured within the artworks were inspired by Mooney's friends, family, and Yuwi ancestors.
"Hopefully other Indigenous LGBTQI+ mob can resonate with my work," he said.
Mooney said he hoped his characters, which often have an ethereal and almost super-human presence, captured the strength and pride of his people — past, present and emerging.
"We've got 60,000+ years of knowledge behind us — especially with our ancestors. There's nothing we can't do," he said.
