February 17, 2016
Well-known Brisbane sculptor Laurie Nilsen, a foundation member of the Campfire Group of artists and a member of the proppaNOW Indigenous arts collective, is taking a group of Cherbourg artists on a journey of discovery.
Members of the Yidding Artists group are enjoying a two-day workshop at Cherbourg under his skilled direction.
Laurie was born in Roma in 1953, a descendant of the Mandandanji people.
He moved to Brisbane in the late 1960s to become a jockey. After finishing his apprenticeship, he completed a three-year course in commercial art, and then in 1999 graduated with a BA in Fine Arts, majoring in sculpture.
In 2007, Laurie won the Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award at the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards for a sculpture of emus fashioned from barbed wire.
He is now a part-time lecturer at Griffith University.
Laurie began his work with the Cherbourg artists on Wednesday by introducing them to his skills, via a slideshow of his art.
The workshop has been funded via the Indigenous Regional Arts Development Fund (IRADF).
