Matt Poon grew up in Hong Kong, pursued engineering studies in Canada, and settled in Australia. He rediscovered his childhood passion for painting six years ago when he was tutored by the late Wenda Ashton of the renowned Ashton family. He experiments with watercolour and charcoal, painting a wide range of subjects including land and seascapes, human figures, wild animals and pets. He has exhibited widely in Australia and won several prizes including the Peoples’ Choice Awards of DeeWhy Art & Craft Show four years in a row, 2007‐2010, and a Honorable Mention in the prestigious Warringah Art Exhibition 2008. Many of his paintings have a distinctive poetic quality reminiscent of contemporary Japanese water colours. The powerful images he created for the festival are a new venture based on aboriginal water myths that he has clearly taken to heart.
Matt Poon makes Australian aboriginal water myths his very own in a series of new paintings at once romantic and naïve yet vibrant and authentic.
Storm Maker ….Seen in “Water Revolution” Issue
Mamaragan roamed the skies and carried with him the two stones of disturbance. When he was happy he would make the stones dance to create the thunderstorms and precious rain. The people of the land were taught the special Rain Dance that would surely bring joy to his face. However, in times of plenty, they saw no need to please Mamaragan, and subsequently they began to forget how to perform the Dance. As the Land started to dry up, some elders attempted to recall the Dance from their ancient teachings, but hard as they tried, they could not remember how to make Mamaragan happy again. This explains why rainstorms are so few and far between, and that precipitations are so unpredictable.
