Daniel O'Shane
Twenty-five year old Daniel O’Shane has developed his own unique minar, or traditional patterning, drawn from both his ancestral Islander and mainland Aboriginal heritage. The unique fusion of both cultures is representative of a growing movement in Far North Queensland.
Daniel identifies primarily with his mother’s Torres Strait Islander heritage in Erub Island (Eastern Torres Straits) whose tribes are Meuram, Saisarem, Peiudu and Samsup, language group Miriam Mer. Daniel belongs to the Meuram tribe. The Kodau lubabat (principal totem of a tribe) of the Meuram tribe is the Beugerr (booby bird). Within the Meuram tribe there are sub clans; Daniel belongs to the Serarr (black tern/sea bird) and Omai (dog) clan. His Aboriginal heritage on his father’s side is from the Mossman–Cooktown (Qld) region, Kunjandji clan, language group Kuku Yalanji.
Daniel has a connection to the legal profession through his great-aunt (grandfather’s sister) Pat O’Shane, or ‘Babi Pat’ to Daniel. Inspired by his Babi Pat, Daniel has charted his own territory by becoming the first contemporary visual artist in the O’Shane clan to tell the stories of his people.
He was shortlisted and highly commended in the Youth Award section of the 2014 31st Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. His large work, Meuram and Zogo Ni Pat, was shortlisted for the 2015 Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, while Aib Ene Zogo Ni Pat (Aib & the Sacred Waterhole) was the Grand Prize winner of the 2015 Silk Cut Award, Melbourne.
Artwork images and biography courtesy of the Artist, Canopy Art Centre in Cairns, and Tali Gallery in Sydney.
