Tony Sorby.

Tony Sorby is a proud descendant of the Kamilaroi people, born on the Burra Bee Dee Mission just outside Coonabarabran in north-western New South Wales. Kamilaroi Country stretches across a vast expanse of north-western NSW and reaches into inland Queensland — land rich with cultural history and living tradition.

Like many Aboriginal Australians of mixed heritage in that era, Tony was taken from his family as an infant and raised across orphanages, foster homes, and institutions throughout NSW. He learned of his Aboriginal ancestry at the age of twelve, though more than twenty years would pass before he could reconnect with his family and his heritage. His path was shaped by hardship and resilience — moving through many jobs and places, and through periods spent in detention — yet today he stands at peace with his identity and proud of his Kamilaroi culture.

Painting became Tony's way back to his heritage. He first turned to the formal study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, and as his sense of identity deepened, so too did his art. Drawing on traditional Aboriginal symbols and the dot-painting style pioneered by the Pintupi artists of the Western Desert, his work carries both his own journey and the stories of the Kamilaroi people.