Artist Profile
Wayne "Liwingu" McGinness
Wayne “Liwingu” McGinness was born in Atherton QLD where his mother is from. His grandmother was Djairrami and her people the Ngadjon tribe (rainforest people) who were mainly located near the Yungaburra area. Her husband was one of the Yidinji tribe. Wayne spent the majority of his life in the Northern Territory where his father’s family is from, The Kungarrakan Tribe (paperbark people) of the Finnis and Darwin River area.
His grandfather Valentine Bynoe McGinness (a wheelright/mechanic) was born on a mine claim near the Finniss River to a local Kungarakan woman (Alyandabu”Lucy” McGinness) and an Irish rail worker (Stephen McGinness). His father’s biological mother was a Torres Strait woman. And, although Wayne never knew her, his looks and art seem to be a reflection of this mix.
In 2006, he tried combining his love of aboriginal art with his skills as a steel fabricator and came up with his own way of making art from steel. He started off by designing and fabricating a 4-5 meters long crocodile for an entrance gate and it received such a great positive response that he started experimenting with different Australian animals and techniques.
Crocodile by Wayne McGinness
Each piece is unique and represents the animals of his childhood, animals of his grandfather’s land, animals he and his family hunted or steered clear of. The movement of the animals, reflected in his work, is what inspires Wayne as he thinks nothing is more natural.
He hasn’t had any formal training as far as art is concerned but has spent the past 17 years working as a welder which has given him the fabricating skills needed to create the images that he imagines.
He has made pieces out of mild steel, but uses mainly marine grade stainless steel as it is much more durable and longer lasting for the client.
There are three different aspects of his work:
- Art Pieces – These are pieces to hang on your wall or a sculpture for your garden
- Building Pieces – His experience in the steel building industry has given him the knowledge to design, read and work to engineered drawings which opens the way to making decorative gates, porch enclosures, balustrades and screens
- Community Signs – He has made a couple of different signs, one is a notice board for the local primary school with interchangeable letters and one is a Welcome sign for the local community. Both signs are designed to reflect the area in which it is located, such as local animals, fauna and flora.
Wayne is also available for commissioned pieces with consultation with the client.
