You might be wondering why the Undercover Artist Festival 2023 hero image is of a piece of art and not a photo of a performing artist.
In February 2023, the Undercover Artist team delved into the heart of Festival planning, with a key focus resting on providing exceptional paid professional experiences for disabled artists. In the midst of our brainstorming, an idea emerged. To stay true to our mission and to celebrate the entirety of art, we approached presenting partner Access Arts to engage an artist to create an extraordinary piece of art for Undercover Artist Festival 2023.
Created by Tommy Daenguthai, Mix The Arts Studio, Blue Mother Earth is the Undercover Artist Festival 2023 hero piece.
Blue Mother Earth is about our inner creative strength we all hold. Perfectly mirroring the sentiment of Undercover Artist and perfectly displaying many of the colours of Undercover Artist Festival.
“Blue Mother Earth is about personal connection to internal strength and could be described as a visual representation of an emotional landscape.
The inspiration for this piece was an experience in colour and medium and an exercise of unleashing creative energy, movement and feeling, purely for the sake of self-expression.
This work is the expression of self, through medium, rather than technical skills, as a way of connecting to inner creativity.
I am a passionate change agent for diversity of ability in all aspects of life but especially in the arts.” Said Tommy.
About Tommy
Tommy’s art practice dates back to 2018. He is an emerging Brisbane artist that has been exhibiting in a variety of events and exhibitions in Brisbane and the Gold Coast for the past five years.
Tommy is a part of the Art-ability movement and has exhibited both collaboratively and as a solo artist. With the support of many Brisbane based organisations, Tommy has been building his art practice, brand and business skills in tandem with his creative exploration of inner conscious and subconscious worlds.
The creative process, human connection and community participation are at the core of Tommy’s drive to explore, share and validate creative experiences.
Image: Undercover Artist Festival hero image. Dark, light blue and green painting strokes with sections of white, red and cream throughout.
About the art
Blue Mother Earth is a powerful maelstrom of movement and abstraction giving viewers a glimpse of the spirit in motion and the artist’s connection to the eternal self.
The intensity of strength on display in this beautiful internal landscape shows the power of the macro in the micro. Tommy connects to inner energies through his creative practices. Blue Mother Earth depicts this powerful link and the unleashing of the creative euphoria we can all access when we look to our own internal power and learn to appreciate our unique oneness in the connection to the whole of creation.
(Blue Mother Earth, 2023 – Artwork Statement)
“I hope people can see creativity is a uniquely innate place inside each of us, open to all of us, irrespective of skillset.” Added Tommy.
Image: Pat Swell and Tommy Daenguthai. Pat has her arm around Tommy’s shoulder. They are both wearing black tops and smiling to the camera.
Submissions are now open to submit your artwork for consideration for the 2025 Undercover Artist Festival!
Find out more and submit your artwork here.
Undercover Artist acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and we pay our respects to Elders, past, present, and emerging. We are committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their unique cultural and spiritual relationship to land, water and seas and their rich contribution to society.
