T.Forrester Yorta Yorta people
Born in Shepparton in 1997, T. Forrester has ties to Yorta Yorta and Wemba Wemba peoples on his father’s side and Italian/Australian heritage through his mother.
T. Forrester first started painting while incarcerated and is mostly self-taught he says, ‘other than learning a thing or two from the fellas’.
Using a mixture of ‘ochre colours and contemporary colours’ in his work - dark blacks and rich primary colours of red, blue and yellow - Forrester’s artwork is centred around his family and ‘particularly my five brothers’, he shares. ‘Painting has provided me with a way to connect to family while inside and grieve, as I lost my brother and other loved ones while I was inside’.
T. Forrester’s totem is the long neck turtle, a cultural and visual motif that he uses often in his art. ‘Painting is an escape for me to take my mind away from where I am’ he notes; conceding that, though minimalist, his work intends to be ‘impactful with the story behind the painting.’
T. Forrester first started painting while incarcerated and is mostly self-taught he says, ‘other than learning a thing or two from the fellas’.
Using a mixture of ‘ochre colours and contemporary colours’ in his work - dark blacks and rich primary colours of red, blue and yellow - Forrester’s artwork is centred around his family and ‘particularly my five brothers’, he shares. ‘Painting has provided me with a way to connect to family while inside and grieve, as I lost my brother and other loved ones while I was inside’.
T. Forrester’s totem is the long neck turtle, a cultural and visual motif that he uses often in his art. ‘Painting is an escape for me to take my mind away from where I am’ he notes; conceding that, though minimalist, his work intends to be ‘impactful with the story behind the painting.’
