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Brian Robinson (born 23 August 1973) is a contemporary Torres Strait Islander artist and curator. He is a multi-skilled artist and works in painting, sculpture, printmaking and design. Themes of identity, mythology and pop-culture are central to his work.

Early Life
Brian Robinson was born on 23 August 1973 on Waiben (Thursday Island) in the Torres Strait, where he also grew up. He is the third child of 4 to Russell and Yvonne Robinson (nee Drummond). From them he gained a complex heritage which involves the Kala Lagaw Ya language group, the Wuthathi of Shelburne Bay (on the Cape York Peninsula), the Dayak people of Borneo and Malay roots[2].

His maternal grandfather, Ali Drummond, was a major influence and taught Robinson about the "sea-focused life of the Islanders"[1]. A practising Roman Catholic, he also took Robinson and his mother to mass every Sunday. It was the church art which first inspired him and sparked his interest in Renaissance art[1]. As a young boy he was also very interested in strategy games, comic and superheroes. It is these early influences which inspired Robinson to create art and become an artist. Brian Robinson has stated that it was inevitable and said "if I wasn't going to be an artist, I was going to be a basketball player"[3].

Education and Career
Robinson completed his formal art training at the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE (TNQITAFE) in Cairns, where he obtained an Associate Diploma of Visual Arts in 1994. He went on to do an Advanced Diploma with a focus on linoprinting in 1995. In 1997 he became the first Torres Strait Islander to receive an internship at the Cairns Regional Gallery, through the Museums Australia Curatorial Internship Program, where he was a trainee curator, arts administrator and technician. There he assisted in many exhibitions, notably, Ilan Pasin: Torres Strait Art (1998-2000), the first major touring exhibition of Torres Strait Islander art. In 1999 he became the youngest member and first Torres Strait Islander on the board of trustees at the Queensland Art Gallery. This led to him being appointed to the Indigenous Reference Panel, by Peter Beattie, former Premier of Queensland in 2000.

Robinson had further curatorial experience in 2004, when he interned at the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia. He went on to become exhibitions manager and deputy director of the Cairns Regional Gallery in 2006. Robinson resigned in 2010 after over 14 years as a curator to pursue his art career fully.

Art Career
His art career began with a years artist's residency at the Djumbunji Press, KickArts Fine Art Printmaking in Cairns in 2010. Here he revisited printmaking and experimenting with linoprints and etchings. In 2013 he was a recipient of the Western Australian Indigenous Art Award, one of Australia's biggest Indigenous art prizes. Since then Robinson has had multiple solo exhibitions and public art commissions. His works are held by public institutes, galleries and private collectors in Australia and around the world. He is currently based in Cairns and remains committed to promoting the unique aesthetic of Torres Strait Islander art[4].

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Notable Works
Robinson is recognised for his graphic and intricate images which look at themes of Torres Strait Islander life and culture, myths and legends, pop-culture, toys, cosmology and art history. He follows the tradition of intricate low relief carving which would decorate everyday and ritual objects (such as turtle-shell masks) in the Torres Strait[5]. This is directly seen in his linocut prints and sometimes his sculptural pieces, which use intricate line work, motifs ad patterns. He is also influenced by the tradition of weaving palm into baskets, mats and woven characters, such as fish.

Woven Fish, 2003, stainless steel
One of Brian Robinson's largest works is the public art installation of five stainless steel fish sculptures. Installed on the Cairns Esplanade, these fish are larger version of small woven fish traditional made for Torres Strait feasts or as toys.

And they flew from the airfield at Ngurupai, 2007, linocut
This linocut highlights the hybridity in Torres Strait culture and Robinson's art. It depicts a headdress made for a Torres Strait Islander dance, which unlike the traditional headdress of sea creatures or birds, is a replica of a RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) plane from World War II. It was made to tell the story of RAAF planes taking off from Ngurupai (Horn Island), where many Torres Strait Islanders were part of the Torres Strait Defence Force and Light Infantry Battalion[6]. Robinson has placed the headdress on a backdrop of intricate Torres Strait motifs and patterns. Editions of this print are held by the Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery of Australia.

... and on the 6th day he created man, 2010, linocut
One of Robinson's most graphic works, it depicts the creation of man by God. Here Robinson has depicted God as a Torres Strait Islander in a mask, while man is depicted as Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (c.1490, ink on paper, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice). It uses both Torres Strait Islander and Christian symbols and motifs.