'Dumaresq Dam' - Acrylic on Canvas - Dr Dwayne Andrew Wannamarra Kennedy

This striking landscape acrylic painting is a profound testament to memory, survival, and the hard-won connection to Country. Depicting Dumaresq Dam in Armidale, NSW, the artist offers a deeply personal cartography of a vital local landscape. Dr. Dwayne Andrew Kennedy’s canvas, as seen in Dumaresq Dam captures the silent, brooding strength of a location steeped in history and personal significance.

Collection: Continuity Collection 

Artist: Dr. Dwayne Andrew Wannamarra Kennedy 

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

Size: 100 x 80 x 2 cm (approx. 39 x 31.5 in.)

Year: 2007

Story & Narrative Significance

This painting is a journey into the heart of resilience and local connection. Dr. Kennedy's interpretation of Dumaresq Dam focuses not on a fleeting moment of daylight, but on the profound, enduring spirit of the place, rendered in deep, brooding tones.

The palette seen in Dumaresq Dam of deep sapphire and electric blues, mirrored in both sky and water—channels a sense of solemnity and permanence. This landscape is depicted with a visceral presence: the dark, imposing silhouette of the mountains, rendered in dense, shadowed greens, anchors the scene. This isn't a passive landscape; it is a sentinel, a witness. The fringe of trees, painted with textures of mist-green foliage on dark trunks, guards the tranquil water, which itself holds the memory of light in precise, vibrant strokes.

Therefore, this depiction of a specific dam, captured with such a powerful atmosphere, becomes a metaphor for knowledge and identity that endures. While the region’s landscape has been physically remade by colonial water management, the artist’s hand reasserts a deep, spiritual presence. Dumaresq Dam is a significant work for a collector who understands that true connection to place is complex, and that the most powerful landscapes are those that hold deep, enduring truths.