Regalia

Reko Rennie is a Kamilaroi artist based in Melbourne whose works explore issues of Aboriginal identity within an urban environment. His commanding works are largely biographical and combine the iconography of his Kamilaroi heritage with stylistic elements of graffiti and street art.

Rennie came to attention with his large scale site-specific works and has since employed a variety of mediums and forms from spray painted installations, to neon signage, cast metal sculptures and prints on paper. Dominant in his practice is the trademark use of the repeated symbols of the diamond, Aboriginal flag and crown in brilliant, hard-edge form. The diamond relates to dendroglyphs (carved trees) found in Kamilaroi country, Rennie’s family’s country, while the flag is a symbol of Aboriginal pride and identity. The accompanying crown refers to the sovereignty of Aboriginal people, as Rennie states:
“I’ve used references to the crown, a symbol of royalty as well as a reference to Basquiat and to my graffiti background. The little square with the circle and the line is the aboriginal flag. The diamond is my family crest, it’s like a coat of arms. I have the [per]mission to use it as it is part of my lineage. These symbols combined together state Australia’s Aboriginal royalty. It’s the first people, the Indigenous people. Regalia is a reminder.”