Harry James "HJ" Wedge (1957 – 8 November 2012) was a

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...

artist.

Early life and education

Wedge was born in

Erambie Mission Erambie Mission is an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal community located on the western banks of the Lachlan River, from the town of Cowra, in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. History Eramb ...

Cowra Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863. Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Prior to starting his artwork professionally, Wedge worked as a driver and fruit picker until he headed to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to enrol at the

Eora Centre for the Visual and Performing Arts TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory bod ...

Career

After graduating from the college he became a member of the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative, exhibiting with contemporaries such as

Ian Abdulla Ian Abdulla (1947–2011) was an Aboriginal Australian contemporary artist. A Ngarrindjeri man who grew up on the banks of the Murray River, Murray in South Australia, he has been called Australia's greatest naïve art, naive artist. Early l ...

and Elaine Russell. In 1992 he held a

solo exhibition A solo show or solo exhibition is an exhibition of the work of only one artist. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photography. The creator of any artistic technique may be the subject of a solo show. Other s ...

called ''Wiradjuri Spirit Man'' at

Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music an ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

as well as at Boomalli. In 1993, Wedge was represented in ''Australian Perspecta'' at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

and was artist-in-residence during which he created the narrative work ''Stop and think''. The Art Gallery of NSW describes Wedge's work in the following way: "His work focuses on post-colonial narrative and examines current social and environmental issues. He has said that he tries "...to paint what I dream, what I hear on, things you can even hear people talking about on the train...". His powerful paintings operate seductively, enchanting the viewer with signature lyrical figures that he combines with arresting political statements. His figures, refusing to be silenced, become social commentators and express the injustices of the past". A monograph on Wedge's work, ''Wiradjuri Spirit Man'', was published in 1996 by Art and Australia, with an introduction by Brenda L. Croft and an essay by Judith Ryan. Containing a selection of Wedge's vivid paintings and engaging stories, his work is by turns humorous, confronting and direct. His work is held in many major private and public collections, including the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

and

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Gallery ...

Recognition

Wedge was awarded the Australian Aboriginal Fellowship by the New South Wales Minister for the Arts.

Death and legacy

He died on 8 November 2012. His funeral was held at St Raphael's Church in Cowra.

References

Australian painters People from Cowra 2012 deaths 1958 births Wiradjuri Australian Aboriginal artists {{Australia-painter-stub