Norfolk Art & Painting Island Stories: Norfolk Art Feature

As you ramble around the island; exploring beaches, valleys and pathways, there can be a blurring of past and present. The environment reminds us of earlier times – the ruins and remnants of human occupation – and the ageless conifers, cliffs and ocean. For two decades Adam Jauczius (pronounced Yow-chus) has painted gorgeous Norfolk scenes and sullun (people); while forging a deeper connection with its history.
He moved here, with his wife and family, in 2005. Being an outback Weather Technician for twenty years had also allowed Adam, a self-taught artist, to capture the desert’s stark beauty in vibrantly realistic paintings. Now he was keen to tell Norfolk’s unique story, in landscapes and portraits, while working at the local weather station.
In Looking Back, Bumboras Adam depicts magnificent Norfolk Pines growing in profusion right down to the sea. This is a view as naturally lush and inviting as anything the Polynesian wayfarers, or Captain Cook, encountered when they first set foot on Norfolk. The vivid colours, wild seas and rocky coastline remain unchanged.
With The Fatal Shore Adam conveys a mother’s terrible grief at the loss of her twin daughters. In 1792 a huge pine fell on Nathaniel and Olivia Lucas’ home; killing both toddlers. Some years later, when Britain closed the First Settlement, the Lucas family left the island – and their loved ones’ graves – forever.
Adam’s Past Echoes shows us the green, drowsing common and distant Second Settlement buildings; reminders of a more brutal era when convicts feared Norfolk as …a place of the extremest punishment short of death. Today cows wander at will and birds flock to the neighbouring wetlands. All is peaceful but we sense a darker past.
In 2017 Adam opened a gallery – Norfolk Art – to showcase his original paintings, high quality reproductions and cards. His artistic career includes eleven solo exhibitions, group displays, commissions, two books, six Archibald entries, a stamp series and numerous awards. Please ‘pop in’ to see Adam’s emotive and detailed artworks.
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Norfolk Art is located on Taylors Road opposite the RSL
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Image Credit: Adam Jauczius
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Article content disclaimer: Article first published in Discover Norfolk, Volume 07 Issue 02, 2024. Please note that details of specific travel, accommodation and touring options may be outdated. References to people, places and businesses, including operating days and times may be have changed. References to Government structure and Government businesses/entities may no longer be applicable. Please check directly with businesses and/or Government websites directly rather than relying on any information contained in this article before you make travel arrangements.