Paul Bong's artistic career has had a lot of stops and starts but he finally feels he has found his groove, painting and etching contemporary versions of the shields his ancestors once carried for protection."
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"I defend my culture today with my shields – in art," he said.
The Cairns-based artist, a Yidinji man whose tribal name is Bindur-Bullin, has spent the last two days showcasing his art in the main hall of the National Museum of Australia as part of its indigenous artist in residence program.
Bong also has a piece in the museum's latest exhibition, Encounters, an etching of a shield, called Crossroads, which references the destructive effect the arrival of white man had on generations of his people.
"When I first started art, I didn't really know what to paint," he said.
"I was doing dot art. And someone said to me, 'You're not a dot art person, that's not the North Queensland style of art'. That's what I thought I should be doing.
"My wife said 'Go and check the Cairns museum out and you will find your people's art there'. And I came across the shields. I felt an instant connection.
"Because I'm named after a young warrior, that's why I think I got into the shields. When a young warrior was initiated, he was handed a blank shield and on that blank shield he painted his totem.
"I'm decorating my shields the way I want to. I don't copy them to the 't'. I put my own interpretations on them."
Bong said his early success in art led to problems with drugs and alcohol. He chose to instead do a labouring job for 17 years rather than pursue art full-time because he thought it was a better way to provide for his family.
When he returned to art, his first exhibition in 2014 attracted the attention of the National Museum which bought two pieces. He hasn't looked back. He doesn't drink and he doesn't touch drugs.
"I spend all my time on art," he said.
The 53-year-old grandfather said part of his motivation was to inspire his own descendants to understand and celebrate their culture and continue to pass it on to the next generation.
He enjoyed explaining his art to visitors to the museum.
"I suppose because I'm a talker, it's nothing to me," he said.
The British Museum has sent 151 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects to Canberra for Encounters. The exhibition also incorporates 138 contemporary artworks including Bong's work.
Bong said he was on a short-list for a large public art installation in Cairns and, by chance, another artist also in the running was Vernon Ah Kee, who also has works in Encounters.
Bong will be conducting a workshop in etching and screen printing on Saturday at the Megalo Print Studio in Kingston. Bookings are essential at Eventbrite website
