Tarik Ahlip
Tarik Ahlip is an emerging artist based in Sydney of Turkish and Sri Lankan descent. His connection to Auburn reaches back to his childhood. Visiting Auburn from Canberra, each Ramadan was spent there with his extended family. Tarik’s insight into the construction of the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque was a formative experience and he was especially impressed by seeing the marble craftsmen and painters from Turkey at work on the transformation of its interior. He developed an early awareness of the Middle East as a contested site and its long history of conflict underpins the pacifist stance that he taken as starting point for his participation in Then, Now, Tomorrow – After the War.
Seher Aydinlik was born in 1953 in Turkey and arrived in Australia in 1991. From a young age, creating art and writing poetry were a big part of her life. As a childcare teacher, Seher encouraged and shared her love of art with children as a way of enriching their creativity. Since 2005 she has been an active member of the Auburn Artist’s Network, and has participated in numerous exhibitions and undertaken a range of volunteer roles. Since 2012 she has been a member of the Auburn Community Choir. Seher is closely linked to the Auburn community both through her Turkish heritage and as an artist who is active in expressing her creativity and passion for culture, religion, nature and the environment. She recently won a professional development award through the 2014 Auburn Mayoral Art Award for her artwork, ‘World Within and World Without’.
Simon Cook
Simon Alexander Cook is an artist and designer whose work explores social ecologies and habitats. He develops these concepts through the creation of three-dimensional calligraphic forms that interact with audiences through well-thought and organic changing processes. Simon has a deep interest in the places that exist within the Auburn area that combine natural and built forms such as Rookwood Necropolis and the Duck River corridor bushland pockets.The unique experiences that these places generate through the combination of geographical, environmental and cultural dimensions provide a foundation point for Simon whether he is developing work for a gallery or outdoor space.
Audrey D’Mello is an early career artist who specialises in Amigurumi crochet, a style which allows her to model yarn into a diversity of forms. Audrey does not follow crochet patterns when creating, allowing her the freedom to manipulate the scale of her objects. Audrey has made hundreds of Amigurumi pieces including whimsical and ‘unexpected’ crocheted objects such as potted cacti, wondrous character dolls and beanies. She also works to translate children’s drawings into three-dimensional crocheted forms.
Blak Douglas (aka Adam Hill)
Blak Douglas (aka Adam Hill) was born and raised on Booreberongal (Darug) country, Western Sydney and has a Dhungatti bloodline. He is best known as a painter, however his oeuvre is diverse, encompassing sculpture, photography and community cultural development projects. His distinct style of work includes clear messages of social justice and political commentary related to treatment of Australia’s contemporary and past Indigenous communities. Adam is also an accomplished performer of Yidaki (Didgeridoo) learnt from his cultural mentors and cultural tutors and custodians of the instrument, the Yolngu of North East Arnhem Land and has performed at major events nationally and abroad.
Shirley Jenkins
Shirley Jenkins’ work incorporates a broad range of traditional and contemporary art and craft practices. She has a passion for the handmade and has shared this through her work as an educator in embroidery, sewing, paper craft and jewellery. She has facilitated workshops at the Peacock Gallery in these practices. Shirley is an active member of the Auburn community where she has lived for most of her life. Shirley’s grandfather, Roy Arnold, to whom she pays tribute to in Then, Now, Tomorrow – After the War, was a long-time resident of the Auburn suburb of Lidcombe. Shirley is a member of the Auburn Artist’s Network, Auburn Maker’s Circle and Auburn Community Choir. She also works for Auburn
Council as a volunteer at its monthly citizenship ceremonies and as a gallery attendant at the Peacock Gallery.
Sezen Kasap
Sezen Kasap is a Sydney-based Australian-Turkish artist and visual arts educator, who works predominantly in the mediums of painting and printmaking, and more recently, digital illustration. Her work explores the documentation of events—in particular the conventions that are used in visual reportage. Sezen develops approaches that ‘re-document’ events in new and alternative contexts, such as exploring how historic events might resonate in contemporary times. Sezen is continuously seeking to extend her practice and in doing so, she is currently working towards finding ways to heighten the emotional expression and impact of her work.
Lesley Richman’s paintings and drawings are underpinned by well-researched concepts that draw on a range of ideas and issues including the experiences of women. Lesley actively seeks out opportunities to develop new work and she has participated in exhibitions across metropolitan Sydney and in regional NSW. Colour, shape and pattern are strong features within Lesley’s work, and to these she adds an array of symbols that are imbued with historical and cultural meaning. Lesley has developed a strong understanding of the Auburn community—having worked as a community nurse for many years—and she is a member of the Auburn Artists Network.
Michaela Simoni’s creative practice utilises the visual arts, music and writing. The breadth of forms and possibilities that are offered through these mediums allow Michaela to engage with the complex emotional environment that exists around her. They also provide her with a highly dynamic ‘palette’ to explore the facets of her true self. Michaela has been an active member of a number of artist collectives, included the Auburn Artists Network and the Duck River Band, which she recently established to perform Australian heritage music.
Carla and Lisa Wherby are artists with strong individual and diverse art practices who are also passionate about working collaboratively. Their work investigates a range of social and political concerns through a variety of media and are well known for their distinctive pen and texta drawings and collage and assemblage works. Carla and Lisa’s collaborations are often thought provoking and humorous. In 2011, Carla won the Arts NSW/Accessible Arts Framing Gravity Scholarship which resulted in a study trip to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra with Lisa in 2012. The study trip provided the artists with an opportunity to extend their research into women’s roles during wartime and has become a vital tool in realising their work for this project. Carla and Lisa are twins who have been part of the Auburn community for over seven year and are also active members of the Auburn Artists Network.
Matt Jones is a recognised social entrepreneur, emerging thought leader and practicing artist who is focused on and committed to building relationships between Australia and Asia. The high level of respect that Matt enjoys, together with his analytical and planning skills and ability to connect people and ideas together are at the forefront of the projects that he has
initiated and completed over the past decade.
He is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and served as an Australian Army Officer for more than twenty years. He enjoyed an extensive career involving a range of regimental, training and staff appointments focused on operational warfighting capabilities of the Australian Defence Force. Matt was an integral member of the elite Parachute Battalion Group, as well as part of the Rapid Deployment Force maintained out of Townsville’s 3rd Bridge. Matt deployed on operational service to East Timor as the Lead Operations and Plans Officer for the Australian Defence Force. Later, Matt assisted the Whole of Government response to border protection during Operation RELEX II as the Transit Security Element
Commander, which saw the successful interception and repatriation of SIEV 14 in 2003. Matt’s operational duties included the standing up and management of the Australian Army response to the 2004 Aceh tsunami relief effort. He was intimately involved in planning and managing operations for the Australian Defence Force as a member of the Land Component-Joint Operations Command based in Sydney, with particular responsibilities for Middle East, East Timor, Border Protection, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan.
Matt has been awarded the Australian Army Active Service Medal—for his service as a veteran of East Timor; Defence Force Service Medal; Australian Defence Medal and the United Nations Campaign Medal for UNMISET (East Timor). Matt is awaiting his awarding of the Operational Service Medal (Border Protection) for operations conducted in 2003.
Matt recently assisted the NSW Government with the implementation of their Centenary of Anzac commemorative program, and later was Acting Executive Manager at the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2004 to examine successful models of social enterprise across the UK and USA that might have benefit to an Australian context. In 2008 Matt was awarded an Australian Daves Connection Future Summit Leadership Award by the then Governor General and Prime Minister for his work in strengthening an entrepreneurial culture for Australians. He was selected as a Vincent Fairfax Fellow in 2009 to undertake the 18-month program designed to increase the capacity for ethical deliberation among selected Australian leaders. As part of this program, Matt had an obligation to travel to any regional country and ask any ethical question he chose to frame for himself. Matt decided to visit South Korea in 2010 to ask: ‘should business have a role in changing a relationship with North Korea?’ Matt was among one of 100 selected Commonwealth leaders in the inaugural CSCLeaders Commonwealth Studies Conference held across the United Kingdom in March 2013. Here, Matt connected with the fresh reality of the Commonwealth as a diverse and dynamic organisation with strong convening power to make a difference, socially and politically.
Matt’s interest in the visual arts emerged as a result of the extensive international travel that he experienced during his time as a young Australian Army Officer. The rich legacy of architecture, sculpture and painting that he discovered in places across the globe sparked a longer-term interest in the art history and the visual arts. He has completed a BA (International Relations/Strategic Studies), as well as a MBA focused on entrepreneurship and innovation and has studied Art History at LaTrobe University, Melbourne.
Matt is an active volunteer in many capacities, most significantly as an Ambassador for the White Ribbon campaign organised by Australian men to end violence against women. He lives in Lidcombe and is the Welfare Officer for the Auburn RSL Sub-branch.
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