Photography/Digital Art

MICHAEL EATHER

Born: 1963 Launceston, Tasmania

Michael grew up and was educated in Tasmania. Following his graduation in 1983 from the University of Tasmania, he spent several years at the Indigenous community of Maningrida, which became the starting point for decades of inter-cultural artistic collaboration. The stingray is a symbol used in many of Michael’s works, taking both painterly and sculptural forms and constituting a metaphor for journeys and destinations. Michael currently lives in Brisbane where he works as an artist and is co-owner and director of FireWorks Gallery, Newstead.

fireworksgallery is known for sourcing works from across Australia to build unique collections featuring contemporary works from established and emerging artists, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. It emerged as a commercial gallery space in Brisbane in 1993, following the networks of Campfire Group consultancies and collaborative projects that began in 1987. 

A desire to present artworks by Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists alongside each other has been a constant theme underpinning the gallery’s exhibition program and associated projects. Remarkably, the premise of cultural collision—originally cloaked in political and educational contexts of artists’ shared influences—still seems as relevant today as it did twenty years ago. 

fireworksgallery projects include co-coordinating public and private commissions, collaborative projects, artist-in-residency programs (NEWflames Inc), a publishing schedule, and limited-edition print folios from the Estates of Lin Onus and Vincent Serico.