it’s Scott

It’s Scott... a phenomenal local Aboriginal artist who is not only sharing his gift of art in our community, but sharing it all the way right across the country… he’s also opening the eyes, minds & hearts of the next generation of kids to the real story of his proud indigenous culture.

Scott was born in Loxton & lived most of his childhood in the Northern suburbs & then moved down to Port Adelaide to be closer to the beach, Scott adds, “water is my spiritual thing, it’s where I feel calm and creative.”

Scott believes everyone is born with a level of artistic creativity in them but the system is what drives it out of people & the people that remain creative are the ones that rebel against the system.

Scott was always very artistic as a young kid - when he got to his teenage years he remembers, “being Aboriginal is more than just a word to me, so I wanted to know more.” So, Scott started exploring & he was lucky enough to work with a couple of other talented Aboriginal artists & also worked on a friend’s exhibition. It was at that point that Scott thought to himself, “this is pretty good.”

As Scott continued working on his art he started to develop his own style along the way, he remembers, “some of my early works, I look at now and I think, man that’s just crap!” But every art piece that Scott has created has brought him closer to his unique & easy to spot works, Scott explains, “earlier I would always paint with a brush, but now I’m mostly working with aerosols with a little bit of brush.” It’s a distinctive & unique style Scott has & as soon as you become familiar with it, you’ll know it’s his work. Even to the point that Scott doesn’t sign his art.

The way Scott gets inspiration for his artwork is fascinating, he lets us know, “for me it’s about, I want to build a strong story first, before I paint.”

But it hasn’t always been paint brushes & aerosols for Scott…

In the early years Scott went to uni to study to be a teacher, but he found out pretty fast that it just wasn’t for him… & although he doesn’t have the title of a 9 to 5 educator now, he still feels like he’s a teacher because he spends so much time in schools. Scott also had a 20 year stint in a Government role in I.T. plus worked for Anglicare for a couple of years in the family support and mental health space. Through all of Scott’s career journey he has come to realise, “you get a new appreciation on life and how fragile it can be, we are all walking a line.”

Along with overcoming some personal challenges along the way, Scott has found his purpose. Like all good people, Scott puts a lot of his success down to being in a great relationship with his partner, ‘Kirsten’ who is 100% supportive of the difference Scott is continuing to make & also to his 4 awesome kids from a previous relationship, Scott Junior, Jake, Neisha & Riley. 

It’s clear to see Scott has been a teacher all the way through this journey, Scott says, “I choose to work in schools a lot, rather than other expressions of interest jobs & opportunities. For me I want to present a different face of what being Aboriginal is to young kids and non-Aboriginal kids. The younger kids grow up in a system now where they have multiple cultures right there in the classroom, so they are already at a point where they are accepting of others. We need to build on that so we can influence them now. I don’t fit any of the stereotypes of an Aboriginal person, I don’t have dark skin, I don’t walk around in the bush with a loincloth… so that’s what I like to present when I walk into a school. If there’s one thing I’d like them out of spending time with me, it’s that they have had a positive interaction with an Aboriginal, that’s where the passion lies for me.”

A big one for Scott is about how, ‘people are connected to place.’ Scott adds, “I think if we can build an understanding of how important ‘place’ is to us & then get non-Aboriginal people to have the same connection with it, then we will all do a better job of taking care of ‘place.” Scott spends a lot of time at schools talking to kids about the connection to place & also personal identity.

When Scott is teaching through his art, he’s in at schools talking and sharing his knowledge with the children & with the teachers. Scott shares, “It is a great tool for getting kids to sit down and to have a chat. Aboriginal culture is part of the curriculum and it has to be taught in schools, but who is teaching it?” Scott’s vast knowledge & passion, along with his great ideas lets him do an amazing job teaching the next generation. Scott shares one of his great ideas, “ Why not create an Aboriginal education unit that is just Aboriginal educators that go out & travel around to all the school & educate students & teachers through workshops.”

Another way Scott’s sharing his proud culture & educating others is by the really clever ‘mini artwork’ that he creates & places around the country for others to find. Scott lets us know, “Aboriginal art is not accessible for everyone in the community, so I’ve always kept my canvas paintings reasonably priced. I would rather every person be able to own something. So with the mini artwork, it’s just a way for me to give people that opportunity to own an original piece of art. It’s also a reward for following my work online & my followers have the opportunity to go & find something. It might introduce someone who has never experienced Aboriginal art in a contemporary sense. They can then go to my Facebook or Instagram, they get to see thatAboriginal art is more than just ochre paintings on bark. I like to plant a piece of my mini artwork to remind people that Aboriginal people are still here, I think sometimes we forget that Aboriginal people are everywhere.”

Scott stands proud as a descendant of the Aranda people of Central Australia & his artwork is a tribute to his Grandmother who was taken from her people as a child, her memory lives on strong in all of Scott’s amazing artwork.

Scott, you are a legend mate, thank you for sharing your gift & for creating a space that sets up the next generation!!

Everyone!! You just have to follow this man’s work & feel free to hit him up, click here - facebook Rusted Tin - Contemporary Aboriginal Arts ... plus Instagram @rathman74 & email scott@rustedtin.com

Scott’s wanted to end our catch up with these powerful words, “Become educated & informed rather than just taking what you think you know about Aboriginal people as being what it is. People need to go out & find some Aboriginal people & talk to them & not just one or two but get a wider perspective.”

Use ‘Reconciliation Week’ & ‘NAIDOC Week’ as an opportunity to attend events & talk to people & imbed yourself in those experiences, then continue reading & learning so you can become more informed rather than being ill-informed.

I have a wish that we can find a point where non-Aboriginal people go through a re-education process & have the opportunity to learn about the true history & get a greater understanding of how important culture is to us. We need to stop seeing it as some sort of difference & embrace it & see how it can be better & it can benefit all of us.”