Growing Together, from the series Queer, Blak & Here

Dylan Mooney, a proud Biri (Yuwi), Meriam Mir and Australian South Sea Islander man from Yuwibara/Mackay, is recognised for his unique blending of digital technology and drawing to celebrate First Nations people, resistance to colonisation and enduring connections to culture. He typically explores community stories, current affairs, and contemporary queer culture with Indigenous art objects and storytelling. He has also recently turned his attention to portraits that looks at his South Sea Islander heritage, rendering images of Ancestors in black pen, graphite and sugar.

Mooney began his career in digital illustration, born from his passion for drawing; ‘I work in these mediums because I love to draw,’ says the artist. ‘When I first started my art practice, I was a drawer and that was a steppingstone into my other mediums such as print making and digital illustrations.’

In these digital works Mooney has highlighted love in queer communities. His subjects stand proudly and defiantly, confident in their culture and sexual identities. Mooney’s works extend from his immediate personal experiences as being a young, queer Indigenous man, and explores the shared experiences of systematic oppression and resilience of First Peoples in a collective sense, from so-called Australia to the Zenadth Kes to the Great Ocean (South Pacific).