'Phaius australis-swamp orchid' is a full-colour digitally designed illustration depicting Mooney’s research into native plants on Country. In this work digital illustration is decorated with ochre the artist has collected from Yuwi country, positioning living plants as a continuation of Indigenous culture. First exhibitied at N. Smith Gallery, Sydney in 2022, this body of work made up a series titled 'Intertwined.'

For Mooney the blending of digital technology with traditional materials is symbolically optimistic. His visual reference to living, native plants, is a means of redefining the still life genre to reflect an ongoing connection to culture, resilience and country from Indigenous perspectives.

Dylan Mooney is an Indigenous artist of Aboriginal (Yuwi), Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander heritage. He is Mackay-born and graduated from the Queensland College of Art’s CAIA (Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art) program in 2020. His two paths of creation are fine art, including drawing and printmaking; and graphic design, in which Mooney’s digital posters celebrate Indigeneity and queer identity. He has exhibited his work in Queensland and South Australia, with mural commissions across several regional Queensland locations including Mackay. In 2022 Mooney was commissioned to contribute work to ‘Biennale of Sydney: rivus,’ at Pier 2/3, Sydney and work from his Queer, Blak & Here series appeared in the 2022 major exhibition ‘QUEER’ at the National Gallery of Victoria. Mooney has work included again in the 2024 Biennale of Sydney and has shown his 'Queer, Blak and Here' series at the Australian Embassy in both Berlin (2024) and Paris (2023).

Artspace Mackay 2022