Eve Gurd operates an art gallery at 10 Bemago Street, Nambucca Heads, NSW, Australia.

About Eve Gurd

I believe that a sense of injustice was aroused in me when, at about the age of ten, I recall derogatory comments about aboriginal people being made around the family dinner table by my father.

Later on, at my place of work, in my early twenties, I invited an aboriginal woman to come in and speak on the problems of the aboriginal people. She said, her opening sentence was: "We don't think we have a problem; we think the white person is the one with the problems." (I'm talking about the 1970's).

Then later still, living in the bush in Fiji, one of the local Fijians asked me: "Is it true that when the English came to Australia, they killed the aborigines? Why did they do it?". A sense of shame came over me about not knowing much about the history of my own land, and of thinking, well, yes, why did they do it?

These things woke me up.

Trips to Arnhem Land, Central Australia and Northern Territory to be with the aboriginal people and learn of their culture inspired me, but my art didn't come till much later.

It was here in the Nambucca Valley, surrounded by nature, that the image of "love" came to me and with it the verse:

"Black and white join hands in a circle of love
In surrender and trust we open to unravel from our diverse centre
With courage we walk together the path of new beginnings to freedom."

"Multi Coloured World" is designed in the colours of the aboriginal flag with verdant green for growth, for all of us. The dome in the centre shows humans from all nations dancing with love in our hearts. We're all green, to get across the message: what does it matter, the colour of our skin?

These tee-shirts sell to schools who support reconciliation. The sale of them is helping us build "Industry for Youth in the Valley" where aboriginal Australians and Australians will be working side by side screen printing reconciliation art on clothing.

It's an exciting venture to provide much needed employment in the Nambucca Valley

We ask for your support.


My Christian art was fired by a visit to the Holy Land and Turkey.

In TURKEY I travelled with two Muslim guides around the seven churches of Revelation (Holy Bible - Revelation chapters 2 & 3).

The seven communities lie in a circuit in the western region of Turkey, each one no more than  80 kms (50 miles) distant from the next.

The road originally began in Ephesus, went north to Smyrna (Izmir), Permagos (Bergama), east to Thyatira (Akhisar), south to Sardis (Sart), south east to Philadelphia (Aleshehir), and finally to Laodicea (Laodyka) - a short distance from Pammukale, site of the thermal springs.

The italicized names, written beside the biblical names, are currently in usage. As you can see the biblical names are disappearing.

At each community Eylem, the guide, implored me to read from the Bible, the letters commissioned by our Lord Jesus Christ to the apostle John while he was exiled in Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea, just off the coast of Turkey. He asked me to pray for him. He wants to go to heaven. He thinks he would make a really good tour operator welcoming the newcomers to heaven.

The journey took us three days, and we travelled a distance of 1,000 kms (620 miles).

Take yourselves on the tour, be welcomed by the love and hospitality of the Turkish people, and take your peace with you.

Tours currently leave Australia through Inner Faith Travel.

ISRAEL is a land of desert, richly cultivated by the people. My experience there is painted as the Stations of the Cross, not simply a pictorial, but a joyful experience. (See Christian Gallery)
 

© 2006 Eve Gurd Art. All rights Reserved. PO Box 672, Nambucca Heads, 2448, Australia, Ph: +61 2 6568 5560