Growing up on The Island

Albert (Digby) Moran was born in Ballina and raised on Cabbage Tree Island. His father was Dungutti and his mother Bundjalung. He is a highly respected member of the Lismore/Ballina community and one of the region’s most highly regarded artists.

Moran’s life is divided into two parts, before he started painting, and after. He worked in agriculture and even as a boxer before he turned his hand to painting. In 1991 he undertook an art course through TAFE which launched his career as an artist. Painting provided a vehicle to express his stories with a strong focus on his time at Cabbage Tree Island. He says, “Those were my happiest years growing up there”. As a story teller, Moran accesses traditions passed on to him by his paternal grandfather, using this as his inspiration to paint and express his Bundjalung heritage.

Moran’s studio was badly affected by the 2017 Lismore floods, losing most of his materials, and much work. This exhibition is the result of a burst of creativity Moran has undergone since the floods, and will be a true celebration of an artist with undeterred resilience