Queenie McKenzie and the Spirit of Mary MacKillop
Art in our churches is generally quite static. The way art is used in aboriginal communities is often very different. The Creation or Gospel story will be painted and then the work of art is used in the liturgy or in the classroom to proclaim the scriptures. The artist holds the painting and tells the story as shown in the painting. For this example we return to Warmun (see George Mung Mung, Mary of Warmun on this website). We turn to one of Australia’s most well-known and respected aboriginal artists, Queenie McKenzie (c. 1915–1988). This work was painted in 1994 at the time of Mary MacKillop’s beatification.