Mickymoo Narungga people
Born in Adelaide in 1968, Mickymoo is a Nurungga man from his mother’s side, who herald from the Point Pearce region on the York Peninsula.
Having grown up in Victoria, Mickymoo finished year nine at Secondary College, going on to complete certificates in Civil Construction, First Aid, Traffic Management, Engineering and Cultural Arts; as well as working in many of these qualified fields, he was also employed doing maintenance on oil rigs in the Bass Strait, fruit picking, fencing and shed building. All a far cry from the artist’s canvas. ‘I was never taught any type of art’, he shares. ‘I am still trying to learn where my creativity comes from’.
‘I am new to art and painting,’ says Mickymoo. ‘As all my art was in steel – if you give me a welder, some steel, a crane, [I can] build you a 100-story building, make candle holders that look like trees; build tables…[I] would like to combine my art on steel, to see how that goes’.
As an artist, Mickymoo hopes to produce works that are enjoyed for years to come. To ‘create something beautiful from the ugliness of the past’.
‘When people see my artwork,’ he hopes, ‘I would like them to know my painting comes from a mind that holds the pain and hurt from the past – of abuse, abandonment, loneliness, guilt and pain – channelled through my heart.’
Versatility, too, is important to Mickymoo, who considers starting a clothing brand in the future; as well as being teacher to his children and grandchildren, as ‘they are the next generation artists’.
Having grown up in Victoria, Mickymoo finished year nine at Secondary College, going on to complete certificates in Civil Construction, First Aid, Traffic Management, Engineering and Cultural Arts; as well as working in many of these qualified fields, he was also employed doing maintenance on oil rigs in the Bass Strait, fruit picking, fencing and shed building. All a far cry from the artist’s canvas. ‘I was never taught any type of art’, he shares. ‘I am still trying to learn where my creativity comes from’.
‘I am new to art and painting,’ says Mickymoo. ‘As all my art was in steel – if you give me a welder, some steel, a crane, [I can] build you a 100-story building, make candle holders that look like trees; build tables…[I] would like to combine my art on steel, to see how that goes’.
As an artist, Mickymoo hopes to produce works that are enjoyed for years to come. To ‘create something beautiful from the ugliness of the past’.
‘When people see my artwork,’ he hopes, ‘I would like them to know my painting comes from a mind that holds the pain and hurt from the past – of abuse, abandonment, loneliness, guilt and pain – channelled through my heart.’
Versatility, too, is important to Mickymoo, who considers starting a clothing brand in the future; as well as being teacher to his children and grandchildren, as ‘they are the next generation artists’.
