Ep64: Leanne Tobin, Multidisciplinary Artist

Today my guest is Leanne Tobin, a Multidisciplinary Artist. In this episode, we find out about Leanne’s early life and upbringing in Sydney and her connections with Irish, English and Aboriginal (Dharug) heritage. Leanne shares insight into what she describes as ‘the hidden generation’ and profound ideas around secrets, suppression, and identity. We chat about Leanne’s ancestors, including Yarramundi (who met with Governor Phillip in the late 1700s) and Yarramundi’s daughter, Maria Lock, the first Aboriginal landowner in the Liverpool region. Leanne shares insights into her motivations to bring Dharug stories and history of places to the surface and how this has informed her current exhibition at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, ‘Memories of Water (Badu)’. We learn how Leanne’s artwork reveals glimpses of life from pre and post colonisation in the Liverpool/Casula region, where the Georges River flows. We explore how Leanne uses mixed media – oil pastels, acrylic paint, ochre, glass, audio and other media - to nurture respect for the stories of Country and of Dharug people, past and present. While listening, you might like to check out Leanne’s Facebook page ‘Tobin Art’ to see photos of her various artworks. The link is in the show notes. Here’s my conversation with Leanne Tobin. Links: Tobin Art (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063743792327 Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre: https://www.casulapowerhouse.com/whats-on