Millowl comes alive

Vegas Fitzmaurice turned to nature for a moving artistic tribute to his late mother.

VEGAS Fitzmaurice’s deeply personal and powerful new exhibition Millowl – A Mother’s Element was created in honour of the artist’s late mother and of Millowl (Phillip Island) itself.

Fitzmaurice, who has Aboriginal heritage (Yarra Yarra, Wurundjeri), says the works draw inspiration from the four sacred elements – fire, water, air and earth – as experienced across the island’s landscapes and seascapes.

​Through these elemental themes, Fitzmaurice captures the rhythm of life on Country:

• Fire as renewal and memory
• Water as healing and flow
• Air as breath and spirit
• Earth as grounding and connection

​
​Together, the works invite reflection on the cycles of nature and life, and on the unbreakable ties between people, place and ancestry. They stand as both a remembrance of a beloved mother and the enduring force and beauty of Mother Nature, and the way she sustains, protects and transforms us.

The exhibition also marks the worldwide launch of a partnership with Authentic Indigenous, an Aboriginal-run technology company dedicated to protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

The platform allows artists to add and manage secure digital certificates of authentication to their artworks, ensuring each piece’s provenance, authenticity, and rightful ownership remain traceable throughout its lifetime.​

​Visitors can aslo scan the artwork with their phone to access rich multimedia stories including artist insights, cultural context and video reflections that will remain permanently linked to the piece.

Millowl – A Mother’s Element is at Berninneit Art Gallery until December 6.