Beaver Lennon
Born 1988, Adelaide, S.A. Lives Ceduna, S.A. Art Centre: Ceduna Aboriginal Arts & Cultural Centre
Selected biography
Beaver Lennon has lived most of his life in Ceduna, South Australia. He is of the Mirning people on his
grandmother’s side and the Antikirinjara people of South Australia on his grandfather’s side. His
grandmother, Verna Lawrie, and his late mother, Bernadette Lennon-Lawrie, are also well-respected artists.
His grandfather, Stanley Lennon, was also a talented artist who greatly influenced Beaver; he passed away
in 2003.
Lennon began painting for the Ceduna Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Centre in 2005. His earlier paintings
were influenced by his grandmother’s Dreaming stories of the Bunda Cliffs along the South Australian
section of the Great Australian Bight. These stories included images of whales and ocean themes. He is now
more influenced by his grandfather’s Dreaming of Malu Tjuta (many kangaroos) and some of his paintings
include depictions of kangaroos within vast open landscapes.
Lennon also paints portraits and in 2008, after a workshop with Siv Grava and John Turpie, he completed My
Jammu, My Grandfather, and a portrait of Stanley Lennon.
Lennon paints in a realistic style, and his landscapes capture the distinctive open skies and vast expanses of
country with an extraordinary degree of depth, inviting the viewer to step into his world. He favours the
effects of early morning or late afternoon light, with romantic skies of rolling clouds that reflect the colours
found underfoot. Through astute observational recordings, he maps out his deep connection to country.
Lennon’s work has been included in several group shows including an Adelaide Festival exhibition Deadly.
In-between heaven and hell, at Tandanya, the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide, and tough(er)
love at the Flinders University Art Museum City Gallery. He has also completed a series of commissioned
murals on public buildings around Ceduna, c. 2008.
Recently Beaver has been commissioned to do a triptych artwork overall size W 3.4 x H2.1m for the grieving
room at the New Redevelopment of the Ceduna Hospital. This partnership includes Arts SA, SA Health,
Country Arts SA, Far West Traditional Lands, and Ceduna (Tjutjuna) Arts & Culture Centre.
Selected exhibitions
2006
2007
2008
Our Mob, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre
Fleurieu Peninsula Youth Scholarship Award
Our Mob, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre
Our Mob, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre
Group exhibition, Kuju Art Centre, Port Lincoln
Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award, Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Art Gallery
Copyright 2013 The Artist, Ceduna Aboriginal Arts & Cultural Centre, and Marshall Arts. All rights reserved.
1
2009
2010
2012
2013
Our Mob, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre
Our Mob, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre
Deadly: Between Heaven & Hell, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
tough(er) love: art from Eyre Peninsula, curated by John Neylon, Flinders University City Gallery,
Adelaide, then touring until 2015
Western Australian Indigenous Art Award, Art Gallery of Western Australia
returning, connecting, Marshall Arts, Adelaide
Awards & Honours
2007 Honoured Citizen Award for his service to the arts, Reconciliation Week, Ceduna
2010 Winner, Inaugural Acquisitive Art Prize, Our Mob, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre
2013 Western Australia Indigenous Art Award finalist
Commissions
2008 Public murals, various locations, Ceduna
2013 Triptych, Grieving Room, Ceduna Hospital, Department of Health, Government of South Australia
Publications
2012
2013
2013
Deadly. In-between heaven and hell, curated by Fulvia Mantelli and Renee Johnson, Tandanya
National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., exhib. cat. 2012.
tough(er) love. Art from Eyre Peninsula, John Neylon, Country Arts SA, exhibition catalogue, 2013
Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards 2013, Art Gallery of Western Australia, exhib. cat. 2013.
Collections
Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide
Copyright 2013 The Artist, Ceduna Aboriginal Arts & Cultural Centre, and Marshall Arts. All rights reserved.
2