How a painting of the Resurrection can help girls at risk

Sydney
1 June 2003

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How a painting of the Resurrection can help girls at risk

Gordana House, Mangrove Mountain

By Damir Govorcin

The sales of paintings by Australian artist Charles Billich - The Stations of the Cross and The Resurrection - will help disadvantaged and abused kids.

Prints of the acclaimed works are to be sold at auction with the proceeds going to assist

Fr Chris Riley’s Youth Off the Streets program.

The Stations of the Cross and The Resurrection have been on display at the

Central Coast Festival of the Arts.

Now the Toukley Rotary Club plans to auction off prints of each of the Stations of the Cross individually.

Club spokesman Ralph Bryant says that over the years Charles Billich’s works have raised more than $50,000 for various charities.

“Charles’ achievements in artistic endeavour at international level are unsurpassed,” he said.

“This matches his personal generosity of spirit.”

The money raised from the auction will aid Youth Off The Streets’ new facility, Gordana House, at Mangrove Mountain on the Central Coast.

Gordana House is a medium to long-term residential rehabilitation program for girls (13-16 years) from the Central Coast region who risk homelessness, have a history of drugs and alcohol abuse or have been physically, mentally or sexually abused.

It will also be available to young women who may be pregnant but have no family support.

Toukley Rotary Club has given more than $25,000 to Youth Off the Streets in the past nine years.

“I go to Youth Off The Streets’ presentation night each year,” said Mr Bryant, “and I have seen the impact this program has had on improving young people’s lives.

“You can’t help but be touched by the work of Fr Chris and his staff.”

Charles Billich’s works adorn boardrooms and galleries in Italy, East Timor, the US, Croatia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Switzerland and, of course, Australia.

His painting of Bl Mary MacKillop hangs in the Vatican.

In a career spanning 40 years, Mr Billich, 68, says he has based his work on his many dramatic life experiences, including his incarceration as a young political prisoner in Yugoslavia, from which he was saved by the intervention of the Red Cross.

He describes his work as “surrealist”.

“I manipulate reality,” he says. “I turn it into some kind of symbolic analysis which works on several levels of meaning.

“There is a touch of irony in what I paint as there is in all surreal art; it contains a fair amount of humour.”

Mr Billich has contributed artistically to many sporting events, including five winter and summer Olympics.

He is the official artist for this year’s Rugby World Cup, for which he plans a collection of works capturing the physical nature of the game and the passion of the fans.

If you would like to make a bid on The Stations of the Cross and The Resurrection prints, call Ralph Bryant on (02) 4396 3784 or Bob Bradley on (02) 4392 3938.