BLAK FLAIR PROJECT | 'Munuiti' Notebook / Arone Meeks

ARONE MEEKS (Kuku Midigi, 1957—2021) grew up near El Arish and Yarrabah, FNQ, although his Country is the area around Laura, Cape York. He completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the City Art Institute in Sydney in 1984 and forged an impressive national and international career. He was a founding Member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, Sydney.

He was awarded the Cite des Arts Studio in Paris, completing residencies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Brazil, Boston, Sante Fe , India, Thailand, NZ, Cook Islands and NPA to name a few. Meeks' practice includes painting, sculpture, drawing and public art commissions as well as linoprints, etchings and monoprints. He has created well-known children's books including Enora and the Black Crane, which was awarded The UNICEF Children’s Book of the Year, awarded to him by Audrey Hepburn. Meeks was the first contemporary Aboriginal Artist to be commissioned by Australia Post to design a stamp in 1988, for the Bicentennial. His work appears in many national and international collections, both public and private.

His work is now managed by the Arone Meeks Estate.

ARTWORK DETAILS: Munuiti (turtle), linocut printed in black ink from one block, edition of 50, 2008, 300 x 150 mm. Published by Djumbunji Press KickArts Fine Art Printmaking.

ARTWORK STORY: This work tells of the fertile freshwater long neck turtle laying her eggs on the riverbank. The figures within her shell are both male and female, representing fertilised eggs. It also warns young women not to rest too close to waterholes as the spirit of a child could enter through her feet and impregnate her.

Blak Flair is a KickArts creative merchandise project that has been generously supported by the Christensen Fund. The project aims to develop a collection of merchandise that portrays the work of Indigenous artists from Far North Queensland to promote their work and cultural importance to the broader community.

BLAK FLAIR PROJECT | 'Munuiti' Notebook / Arone Meeks