Scrubby Creek by Reginald Knox, 1997

Scrubby Creek audio description, duration 2.37 minutes

The title of this artwork is Scrubby Creek, by the late artist Reginald Knox, known as Uncle Reg, of the Kamilaroi Nation. Made in 1997, it is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 1.52 metres high and 1.22 metres wide unframed. The artist signed it with his name ‘REG’ in white capital letters on a diagonal near the bottom right corner. It is presented in a narrow gold frame.

This painting depicts Scrubby Creek; a place located among the busy suburban centres of Logan. Despite this, there are no signs of suburbia, people, or animals. Instead, the creek is veiled in mist and flanked by large, knotted trees wrapped in thick vines on both the left- and right-hand side edges reaching from the bottom all the way to the top. The painting is realistic and detailed with soft tones. A calm section of creek is in the bottom third of the painting, and the top two thirds is the misty sky with the suggestion of trees. Both the creek and the sky are a light grey blue and purple.

Across the bottom edge of the artwork is a dense embankment of exposed tree roots, vines, and foliage. At the lower right corner, the embankment meets the creek, where there are flowering lily pads and reeds. Along both outside edges of the artwork are tall trees whose trunks and branches twist and intersect across the surface. Clusters of green foliage emerge from the ends of the trees, while heavy green vines coil around some of the branches and drape across the creek and ground. Two long strands of twisted grey-brown vine stretch diagonally across the painting, starting near the bottom left corner and finishing on the right edge just above centre.

This artwork has a sense of almost mystic peace and timelessness. It invites reflection on the past while also drawing attention to the enduring beauty that is still available in the region today. Reginald Knox was an important artist and community leader who helped shape Logan’s cultural life and support Indigenous art. He studied at the Queensland College of Art in the 1970s and received many honours for his art and community leadership, including Logan City Citizen of the Year, NAIDOC Elder of the Year, and an Australia Day Award.

This artwork is courtesy of the Logan Art Collection.

Image credit: Reginald Knox, Scrubby Creek, 1997, oil on canvas, 152 x 122cm. Commissioned by Logan City Council. Logan Art Collection, image courtesy Logan Art Gallery