Roy McIvor (b.1934-2018) was born at the Hope Valley Mission on Thubi Warra Country in Cape Bedford on the Cape York Peninsula in far North Queensland. He was a senior Guugu Yimithirr man of the Binthi clan who dedicated his life to the promotion of Indigenous art and culture. McIvor has produced a body of work that is colourful, experimental, and illustrated his love and respect for nature¹. He drew his inspiration from his traditional lands, creating works that are underpinned by the traditional art and culture of his ancestors, while exploring the contemporary social landscape of his community in Hopevale.

Nature’s Bounty by McIvor is a colourful and joyful mediation on the ‘dynamic order’ and splendour of the natural world. The predominately pastel orange-pink painted canvas has been over-painted with a series of dense but harmonious organic lines and shapes that flow from edge to edge, top to bottom. These forms are intricately detailed with both cultural and contemporary markings that McIvor has de-scribed as “a dance between tradition and contemporary life on the land”² – they channel the deep emo-tion he felt while travelling his homelands. Nature’s Bounty is a vibrant and contemplative work that speaks to the interconnectedness of all things and revels in the beauty and bounty of the natural realm.

1. Vivien Anderson Gallery, “Roy McIvor,” accessed December 20, 2020, https://www.vivienandersongallery.com/artists/roy-mcivor/bio.
2. Vivien Anderson Gallery, “Roy McIvor,” accessed December 20, 2020, https://www.vivienandersongallery.com/artists/roy-mcivor/bio.