Gugara - Original Artwork by Garry Purchase

This beautiful artwork titled "Gugara" has been created and generously donated by Garry Purchase.  This is a rare chance to acquire a culturally rich and meaningful artwork while supporting a worthy cause.

Garry shares his story behind this artwork:

"The Kookaburra or 'Gugara' in my Dharawal language is a bird of great significance in many ways.  It represents family as it forms tight family units and is a protector and guardian bird by eating venomous snakes.  It also has a connection to the sun as its call heralds the beginning of the day and bringing of light. It is a bird observes and watches over us that is sometimes seen as a link between the spirit world and ours"

Dimensions: 40cm x 50cm

The artist behind this piece, Garry Purchase, is a proud Aboriginal man of Dharawal, Bidigal and Dhungutti descent. He grew up in Sydney's Eastern suburbs in Botany and was raised amongst the Aboriginal community of La Perouse.

Artistically, he first started painting after he moved to the Central Coast with his wife and 3 sons in 2013. His style is a more modern take on traditional Aboriginal art, steering away from the common dreamtime stories and focusing on his own personal journey, experiences and social issues that pushes a lot of creative boundaries as he stretches the limits of what Aboriginal art can be.

He took out the major prize Tony Donovan Award at Reconciliation Exhibition at Gosford Regional Gallery in both 2014 and 2016 with "One Nation" and "Under The Southern Cross" respectively. His painting "The Journey" won both the Aboriginal Health Award and the People's Choice Award at Mental Health Art Works 2014 and he also won the Aboriginal Health Award again in 2016 with "Missing Pieces" and in 2017 with his piece "Tribal Blood". He won the People's Choice Award in the 2024 Gosford Art Prize for "These Eyes Have Seen", a portrait of his mother.

Most recently Garry was chosen as the artist to display his artwork on the sails of the Opera House on 26 January 2026, as part of the Dawn Awakening and during the Australia Day Live Concert. His artwork 'Dancing in the Moonlight" lit up the sails in this very special event.