NevilleWilliamsArt

SPOTLIGHT ARTWORK

THE ARTIST'S FULL RESUME CAN BE READ (HERE)

__________________________________________________________

ON THE WALLS OF BUREAUCRACY

WE ARE PUTTING IN OUR OWN WAY

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Title: ""(2020)

Artist: ©️

Size: 93cm (W) x 93cm (H) x 7.5cm (D)

Media: Collage, foil, acrylic on canvas framed with a cream mount

behind perspex within a natural Tasmanian Oak wood box frame.

$3,000

(CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

Artist's Synopsis

This artwork features ORICA HOUSE located in Melbourne used in the ABC TV / “” about a fictitious Federal Government instrumentality known as the NBA - . The series satirises the inanity of a government bureaucracy and pushes home a message that it’s a wonder that any nation building ever gets done with all the barriers we put in our way…and it is us who create this bureaucracy.

who plays the central character in the TV series kindly supplied feedback noting...

"...That's very interesting that you picked that building....

we fell in love with it and sadly,

were only able to use it the very first season…

It was an utterly wonderful building to work in...

A great subject matter for your work." - Rob Sitch

Of course it's not the actual building that is the real villain here.

Nothing wrong with the building itself.

It is quite lovely in design both inside and externally.

But in this artwork it provides the metaphor of a mirrored wall reflecting back to us the lack of clarity that prevents us from seeing our deeper selves or what needs to be done to move us forward. This can be interpreted to be not only at government or business levels but from our own individual confusions, beliefs, values, ideas or whatever our unbridled, misunderstood thinking puts in our way to distract us.

In the artwork you can see that the lights are on but no one is there.

Most are elsewhere during Coronavirus! The head spaces are fully buzzing with a whole array of problems.

Buried within this wall of confusion is the matrix of a new that has been placed in a mixed mosaic form. (Our future is in us if only we could see it.) If you took the time you could piece the coloured blocks into an actual clear, workable, practical Flag design that gives respect to our collective past and present and also points an aspirational direction towards our future. (Anyone with common sense and patience could put the pieces together correctly).

I only initially revealed the completed version of the New Standard to two people - a and a . I have more recently revealed the design to a small hand full of proven leaders. And this week (2 Feb. 2026) the suggested design was provided to the Letters Editor of .

A new national flag is something that needs to be earned to give it value and appreciation of its significance.

You can see that the additional Flag almost invisible on top of the building is the ‘surrender’ flag. When we can surrender our confusions and belief systems that keep us going round in circles and reconcile the differences within inside ourselves then we can substitute a flag that actually says something solid. What we can see literally and curiously here is a blank space!

It may appear that the flag is flying at half mast. I’d prefer to see that it is in a process of being raised into its rightful position amongst the world’s great nations. The Australian Standard I’ve designed is most fit for purpose. I repeat, a flag though needs the value and support of many to mean something more than being just a good piece of graphic design.

The artwork is titled “THE PEOPLES FORUM”.

The path in the foreground leads around the wall of the building that is in the way.

The Peoples Forum (unseen here) is a place on the other side of this wall of, well, to be blunt…ignorance.

Ents (Philanthropy, Arts and Media) are shown guarding the path as wise guides along the way. - Neville ☺︎

FOOTNOTE:

Walls of bureaucracy are formidable and impenetrable requiring a lot of energy and resources to fortify over time or for anyone to try to penetrate.

That was evidenced in producing this artwork.

Cutting out and sticking on separately all those little building blocks of reflective foil obscuration gave me one helluva sore back and blurred my vision for a period.

I actually bled during the course of this wall’s construction. Cut my thumb open with the scalpel I was using. Bureaucracy of any sort is so very painful to deal with at any level (ground floor through to the top).

Talk about suffer for your art.

The bureaucracy of life we've created really does need simplifying.

Frankly, I'm too old and tired now to have anything to do with all of the carry on of both bureaucracy or politics at any level. It is all such a waste of creative energy.

My job is to create beautiful art and I will continue to do so until I can no longer. - Neville ☺︎

WHEN WILL THE WALLS

COME TUMBLING DOWN?

THE WALL (1993)

Size: 130cm W x 120cm H

Medium: Oils. Acrylic, Gold marker, Photographs,

newspaper clippings on stretched canvas, framed
This artwork no longer exists.

The following words appeared on the artwork

adjacent to photographs of The Wall at Green Park, Darlinghurst:-

“They built their wall

and judgements' cruelty drained their souls

and left them empty of self knowing

All that's left is their mark up on the stone

A memory in a mirror

They walked their wall

Their empty beggars bowls screaming silence

Hollowed by the siphons of a civilized society

A temporary fix of flight

Over in a night

They dignify their wall

and pointing fingers turn on themselves

The judged released from judgement

A bluebird rising to the sky

leads the way to discovering the light

And from these ashes

a greater phoenix will rise".

- Neville Williams

Sunshine is coming.

Bill's Cafe (1993)
Size: Two panels combined 180cm W x 130cm H

Medium: Bitumen, Gold Leaf, Newsprint, Charcoal on board

PRIVATE COLLECTION

"In the cafe of outside time

The outdoor cafe of time

Find a place to seat yourself

Where, without coffee or cigarettes or wine,

You may observe the subtleties of gesture and concealment

Measure the ghostly vestments of relationships

Judge the balances of need

And if you hear amid the hard-won myths of memory

A bird's momentary song

It will be as if you had been permitted

A cold glass of pure water

Before being moved on by the management"

- Bill Paton

This artwork was inspired by the above poem by Bill Paton.

The painting shows people alone in a bar (on Oxford Street Darlinghurst)

The main figure sits head down on table.
In front of him is his glowing “cold glass of pure water”.

The empty cavernous space of the bar is being filled by the dawning light

flooding through the huge bay window on the right of the work.

There was nothing half measured about Bill Paton. A real artist.

Bill Paton left us too early in his talented life.

This artwork was awarded the Community Lawyers Art Prize (CLAP)

at the 1993 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
(And what a great year's Mardi Gras that was. It had real heart in it.)

(CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

WHERE ARE WE HEADING?

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

THE RISE OR FALL OF WESTERN CIVILISATION?

[Study for "THE AMERICAN DREAM"(after Whiteley)]

Artist: Neville Williams ©️Arts Law Australia

Size: 122cm (W) x 61cm (H) x 4cm (D)

Media: Digital prints and collage, oil pastel, US dollar coin
on stretched canvas.
POA

Artist's Note:

This artwork is inspired by much more

than this artist's visit to New York in 2011.
Certainly though the City that never sleeps

is at the vanguard of modern
Western Civilisation so it is the ideal vehicle

to use to tell this story.

Thinking about it the seemingly unstated “Vision”

of Western Civilization currently playing out

is one that encourages us all
to take more personal or individual responsibility for ourselves.

That is a most worthwhile endeavour.

But I wonder though if too frequently

we use confused means to get to the ends.

All too often dead ends.

This artwork shows the spine of New York City - BROADWAY
running through the centre of the artwork.

If we stay on the broadway the path leads to enlightenment

(on the right of the canvas).

But we seem to get constantly distracted

by all of the bright lights.

Those neon graphs dominating the artwork

are indicative of two things
that are distracting our ability to get where we want to go.

The incandescent white line represents

the ever increasing expectations we have of our leaders,

life, the World, God, each other, ourselves …whatever!

The luminous yellow line shows the measure of our abilities
to meet those same expectations.

It’s time we were encouraged to see ourselves in a new light.
We need a more complete vision, story or narrative of hope

that gives us value in our lives and encourages us

to want to keep participating and contributing.

That is yet to surface.

People may well say that this is all an artist’s idealism talking.
But do we really have a choice? I don’t think so.

Let's get blunt.

The white light to the right of the artwork

while possibly representing enlightenment or understanding

might also represent the canvas clearing effect

of nuclear holocaust. The problem and the solution are both us.

It all starts and finishes with us as individuals.

When people make a choice to find peace/love in their own lives

then we'll be moving towards peace on earth.

The cry of our time is the need for reconnection to our environment,

each other but most importantly to ourselves.

Rest. Reconnect and Create. - Neville ☺︎

A taste of Sunshine!

BONDI THE BEAUTIFUL

AFTER THE STORM - BONDI (1993)

©️Arts Law Australia

Size: 120cm W x 110cm H

Medium: Acrylic, gold leaf, sand grounding,

collage on stretched canvas, framed

PRIVATE COLLECTION

There is some pathos associated with this artwork.

It was inspired by the loss to us of a young man in his 20's who turned heads

wherever he went not only for his natural good looks

but his unpretentious, simple, honest, genuine open nature.

The finished painting shows him walking alone along an empty Bondi Beach

following a storm.

Actual flotsam and jetsam collected from this beach

has become the landscape of Bondi in the artwork.

There are metaphors that can be drawn from this canvas.

The painting makes me wonder what sort of a legacy we are leaving

for the young people who are following us.

AFTER A STORM COMES A RAINBOW FOLLOWED BY THE SUN.

😢

HEAD OUT OF THE SAND

BONDI MIRAGE (Summer 2022)

©️Arts Law Australia

Size: 177cm (W) x 122cm (H)

Media: Mixed Media on stretched canvas (unframed)

PRIVATE COLLECTION

We have our heads in the sand for what is on the horizon.

In short what appears to be the case is that we have a reluctance to share

the responsibilities of a youth nation.

We want to continue to play in the sand pit of life building our castles and laughing in the Sun.

That’s not seeing a bigger picture of reality.

Look around. The sound principles of planning for our future have been forgotten.

The focus on our humanity is being lost and as a result so will we.

You can’t “whack” a band aid on our future.

The future has a way of rearing up when you don’t expect it and biting us on the backside.

We can either put an overarching vision in place or face the consequences of a volatile world that doesn’t give a tinkers toss about you and your family’s wellbeing.

In short we can’t live on a sunny island in the Pacific ignoring the rest of the world.

That is the bigger picture. We need to embrace this reality.

Previous Governments have not given us vision and so it was/is our duty to put people in charge who will plan for our future. A warning is being made not only to governments but the corporates and also each of us as individuals. If we don't set our own plan forward most assuredly others will.

Real leaders know what is needed to initiate vision.

You can bet that quietly they have a huge question mark above their heads pondering whether you would help or support them in doing this.

Wanting our problems to go away and sort themselves out is not being realistic.

It all comes down to work. There’s no other way.

For a leisure programmed nation that appears to be anathema.

That is why leaders hesitate. That is why too many others hesitate. Get used to being out of your comfort zone. The only choice is whether yoo want to be in charge of your life direction or whether you are going to let others drag you screaming in their decided direction.

Joe Biden when US President talked about finding a backbone.

If you want a future that makes you happy

then you are going to have to make it happen yourself.

We need a vision taking us forward.

If we keep treading water we will drown.

😎

BONDI BREAKERS (2011)
Size: 120cm W x 100cm H x 5cm D on stretched canvas

Media: Oil pastels, water based acrylic, approx. 1000 paper dots

PRIVATE COLLECTION

Simplicity in life. Way to go!

😀

PORTRAIT OF A SYDNEY FAMILY (2009)
(clockwise) Meet Howard, Sue, Joshua, Ariane & Nathan

Size: Four panels each measures 50cm x 50cm x 4cm

Medium: Acrylic, glitter paint, pearl pigments on stretched canvas

PRIVATE COMMISSION

We get plenty of opportunity to be “consumers” or to take in our world today.

But how much opportunity do we get to be “producers” or to be creative?

And even if we get that opportunity to be creative do we take it?

The word “sustainable” almost seems to be over used nowadays

but it can be comfortably said that this family live sustainable lives.

They give easily as good as they may take in quite a literal sense.

PS Bondi Beach appears in the background of this portrait.

You might chance upon members of this family

if you're walking down there on a sunny day.

🌞

SUNSHINE(reconnection 1)

(A guiding light for Sydney, Australia...the World)

©️ Arts Law Australia

Size: 120cm (H) x 132cm (W)

Media: Acrylic and paper dots on stretched canvas

PRIVATE COLLECTION

You are looking at an exuberant sunburst of light and life

over Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia and the World.

An artwork designed to encourage us to celebrate life!

Celebrate the victory of light over darkness,

good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. NW

AIMING FOR THE STARS

WITH YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND

(A sculpture about evolving into being a better person) Version No. 8

We're coming down to earth with a thud presently.

So finally feet meet the ground.

Note the addition of the shining star...silver not gold.

We do so want that gold.

Perhaps that is all part of the learning process?

Learning to accept silver is not necessarily a bad thing in the journey along our pathway.

Would you better appreciate the gold when yoo finally arrive?

I found this silver star while cleaning out my Mother's room at her aged care village following her passing recently.

While I always saw the perfect in Mum she did suffer because of the very high standards she set for herself and yes sometimes too of others.

Another friend also passed recently. Amongst many memories I will fondly remember that he had the fantastic ability to accept other peoples shortcomings.

Acceptance and surrender are things we might all do better. N.

10 Jan. 2026

_______

Version No. 7

TOWARDS PIERROT [free(me)]

MEDIA: Fired Clay, lacquer, polished brass,

indelible ink on wooden base.

SIZE: 72cm(H) Base: 20cm square

NFS

Above is the seventh evolution of this particular sculpture.

This is in fact a self portrait that parallels the journey of the artist's life.

But it could also be a portrait of all of us.

We are all walking the path of life with its many ups and downs.

It is noted in this particular version there is some hope.

He has dropped his club (see the base of the sculpture).

His feet appear to need to come down to earth.

That rod up his arse doesn't help!

The ties that bind him are breaking away

so there is more freedom in his life.

He is reaching for the stars

but still needs to understand that the stars he is looking for

are not in the heavens but within inside himself.

The universe inside us all is waiting for discovery. 19 Aug. 25

🔴

TOWARDS PIERROT (Version 6)

MEDIA: Fired Clay, lacquer, gold leaf,

polished brass, indelible ink on wooden base.

SIZE: 63cm (H) Base: 20cm square

TOWARDS PIERROT

(On connection)

What is life without connection?

A shell of emptiness

An existence without purpose

Ambitions without foundation

A story without direction

Like waiting for Godot

I knew connection

A freedom from weighty thoughts

A quiet happiness

A peaceful bliss

The absence of internal struggle

Swimming amongst the stars inside

Out you go into the wild jungle

the oceans depth, the empty desert

the crazy world

So where to from here?

A new journey has begun

To overcome fear

Of the good inside.

Do we make a trial of it

Or a conscious adventure

towards celebration?

Time for the never-ending circle

To become a whorl of life.

YOU discovering YOO.

꩜

[click on pics to enlarge]

...the history follows

CHANGE, DISAPPOINTMENT

AND BEING FLEXIBLE

IN OUR LIVES

Chameleon Harlequin

(DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTWORK)

This original sculpture has been reworked

using the same sculpture.

Each time he has either been knocked down,

dropped accidentally, deliberately broken

or pulled apart I have needed to rebuild him.

Each time he has been reworked he evolves …a bit.

When we are broken we can put the pieces back together

in a more interesting, fluid and creative way…

...or we can stay broken. There's a choice.

We can either be flexible, learn and grow or stay rigid

placing ourselves behind defensive barriers and not budging

from our small pond mindset.

Stay rigid though and sooner or later

there'll be an almighty crack!

This is the voice of lived experience here.

Don't waste it. Live it and learn. NW☺︎

It has something to do with

appreciation, acceptance, flexibility, humility and surrender. 🌈

🔹🔷🔹

Chameleon Harlequin

ARTIST: Neville Williams

MEDIA: Fired Clay, lacquer, gold leaf,

polished brass, indelible ink on wooden base.

SIZE: 63cm (H) Base: 20cm square

This Harlequin is still in a process of change.

He is feeling bound up.

This is not uncommon to many at present.

It feels like a rationalisation is in process.

We are being made to look at ourselves and decide

what is important to us and what is not.

Quite a difficult time. NW☺︎ 3 Feb. 2023

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