Zachary Bennett-Brook is a 26 year-old award-winning artist from Wollongong (Dharawal Country). Being Torres Strait Islander, the ocean is ingrained in his cultural heritage and this is often reflected in his artworks and designs.
Zachary Bennett-Brook
“My art has been described as unique perspective of contemporary Indigenous culture blended with surf culture. I find and gather inspiration in the ocean’s blue walls and sandy floors, often exploring different colour tones commonly associated with the sea throughout my works.”
Zac’s Indigenous art is sold all over the world and has been exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions, and when he’s not creating art, he’s either surfing his favourite spots around the Gong with a solid crew of locals both young and old, or hanging out in Bali surfing Kuta reef or Padang Padang with a few of the local Indo boys he considers good mates.
For more on Zac’s art click here: http://www.saltwaterdreamtime.com/
For the 2017 Fin Art Project Zac created two designs which he explains: “Both fin designs are based loosely on meeting place symbols. To me the ocean is a modern day meeting place, instead of sitting around campsites and sharing stories and knowledge as was the way of the past, I connect to my culture and country when I’m in the water. It acts as a meeting place for me as I get to hang with friends, share culture and catch up. I painted these fins in colours associated with the ocean, yellow/orange for the sand, the light blue for the water and the purple you see in the sky at sunrise or sunset”.
