Lin Onus

William McLintock Onus (Lin Onus) (December 26, 1948 [http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Obituary/1996/art.html] - October 24, 1996 [http://www.aurorasolarcar.com/lin_onus.html] ) was a Scottish-Aboriginal Koori Artist of Wiradjuri descent [Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia, "Onus, L.", Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, 1994, p. 823] from Melbourne, Australia.

Onus was a largely self-taught artist who began as a motor mechanic before making artifacts for the tourist market with his father's business, Aboriginal Enterprise Novelties. [See entries on both son Lin and father William in the "Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia", Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, 1994] Onus was a successful painter, sculptor and maker of prints. His painting "Barmah Forest" won Canberra's national Aboriginal Heritage Award in 1994. [Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch and Emily McCulloch Childs, 'Onus, Lin', in " McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art (4th edition)", Aus Art Editions and The Miegunyah Press, MUP, 2006, p. 127]

Onus' works often involve symbolism from Aboriginal styles of painting, along with recontextualisation of modern artistic elements. The images in his works include haunting portrayals of the Barmah red gum forests of his father's ancestral country, and the use of "rarrk" cross-hatching-based based painting style that he learned (and was given permission to use) [Amanda Ladds, [http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue27/LinOnus.htm| 'The Reconciler'] , "The Blurb", Issue 27] when visiting the Indigenous communities of Maningrida.

His most famous work, "Michael and I are just slipping down to the pub for a minute", has been featured on a postcard, and is a reference to his colleague, artist Michael Eather.

ources

References

Further reading

*Amanda Ladds, [http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue27/LinOnus.htm| 'The Reconciler'] , "The Blurb", Issue 27
*Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia, "Onus, L.", Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, 2001
*Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch and Emily McCulloch Childs, 'Onus, Lin', in "McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art (4th edition)", Aus Art Editions and The Miegunyah Press, MUP, 2006
*Mary Travers, 'Death of Lin Onus', "Art Monthly Australia", no. 96, 1996, p. 43
*Humphrey McQueen, [http://home.alphalink.com.au/~loge27/art_indig/art_indig_onus.htm| 'Art Indigneous - Onus'] , retrieved July 2007
*Louise Bellamy, [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Arts/Onus-goes-on-show/2005/02/22/1109046909226.html| 'Onus goes on show'] , "The Age" (newspaper), 23 February 2005