Black Tiger

This work is a reflection of my time in Korea. The journey and the symbols one acquires along the way, the people we meet on those adventures. In this instance, it was a Buddhist monk who sat next to me on a flight that was like a yin yang experience. The sun was setting on looking out the window of the plane to the left and on the right the full moon had risen. The monk and I had a conversation and as part of that encounter, he told me his name in his language and then translated Huyn Ho into English. His name means “black tiger.” He then gave me reassurance about my next part of the journey back to Australia and gave me his ceremonial necklace (wooden prayer beads), which you can see in the painting.

– Fiona Foley, January 2004

Fiona Foley is a K'gari artist who studied at Sydney College of the Arts and St Martin’s School of Art, London. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and is a founding member of Boomalli Aboriginal Arts Co-operative in Sydney.

Foley originally worked in prints and forms of collage, moving later to sculptural installations in natural timber, shells, animal bones and modern materials as well as painting and photography. Throughout her career, Foley has engaged with issues of Indigenous identity on a regional, national and international level and provokes the viewer to re-examine historical stereotypes.