Leon Fernandes
Leon Fernandes is a visual artist with a deep interest in psychological and spiritual themes. From his longstanding series of hilly landscapes to his more recent embroideries, he challenges preconceptions about subject matter, colour, and media. A self-taught artist with an atypical mind, his work has extraordinary emotional range; he investigates the world with a combination of brutal honesty, intellectual curiosity, and pure joy. Fernandes draws on his mixed European and Indian heritage, re-purposing Catholic and Hindu iconography and fearlessly hybridising the sacred and the profane. His work is also informed by a background in community development, social justice and activism. His work has provoked a heated public conversation about the role of art, religion and drug use in Australian culture. Fernandes’ has worked with oils, spray paint, machine embroidery, batik, mosaic and found fabrics to produce richly textured and layered works. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions.
