Our artists explore Jubilee themes

February 26, 2025

It’s not every day that art competitions are held at Boonah and Tarooki – CatholicCare’s Creative Art Studios for artists living with disability. So, when news broke of CatholicCare’s 2025 Jubilee Art Competition, there was great excitement across the two studios. “We held up the competition poster and their eyes lit up,” says Tarooki Activity Leader, Lea Joris.

Artists were invited to create an artwork reflecting on Leviticus 25:4, “During the seventh year, you must let the land rest. This will be a special time to honour the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or trim your vineyards.” Alternatively, they could create an artwork that reflected on one or more of the following themes – hope, the land, rest or new life.

To get the artists thinking about the theme, Lea explains that they had lots of discussions about hope and symbols of hope. “We pointed out that the lighthouse or a cross could be a symbol of hope. Some said walking in nature or looking at the sea brings them hope,” Lea says.

When Tarooki artist, Daniel Tazelaar first learned of the competition, he said that he wanted to do a reflection. “After some great conversation with Daniel, we worked out that he wanted to paint a scene with a water reflection,” explains Lea. “But he also wanted his artwork to be a reflection on the struggles he’s had in his life and where he finds hope.”

“To me, hope means that good things are coming,” Daniel says. “I have lots of people in my life who bring me hope – my brother who’s in the air force, my sister who’s a nurse and my brother-in-law who’s a personal trainer. They help me with walking, and we go walking along the beach together. They tell me to look at the ocean when things are hard. When I look at nature, it reminds me that life is good. My artwork is a reflection on being in nature with my family and the hope that brings.”

During the most difficult times in Daniel’s life, the soothing sounds and rhythms of the ocean have brought him hope. “As a child I went to the beach a lot. My dad taught me how to surf. They are happy memories,” Daniel says. “A few years ago, my dad passed away from cancer. I saw him the day before, and then the next day I got a phone call from my sister to tell me the bad news. It was very sad. After my dad died, I spent lots of time by the ocean, I painted a lot, and I would look at the cross that hangs in my house. All these things have given me hope. Once day in the future I hope to start an art business, and Tarooki has given me hope that this is something I can do.”

For Tarooki artist Lisa Vineburg, hope and new life were themes that resonated strongly with her. “I live on a hill, and I love watching the sunset with a cup of tea. I painted a sunset, and I wrote Embrace Love on my artwork,” Lisa says. “My friends at my old work were mean to me and it made me feel sad. They weren’t kind. My hopes for the future are to always be kind and help people out.”

Stephanie Brown, who is also an artist at Tarooki, painted a sunrise over the land to symbolise the light of a new day. As a watercolour painter, this was the first time that Stephanie used acrylic paint on canvas. “I wanted to paint a sunrise because they make me feel happy. Sunrises are bright and I feel bright in the mornings.” Lea explains that Stephanie played with light to create this artwork. “Stephanie often finds it difficult to articulate her emotions, but the process of creating this piece allowed her to express herself without using words. I loved watching Stephanie go through the process,” Lea says.

For Boonah Artist Benedict Day, he felt very much at home exploring the themes of Jubilee as he has actively been involved in Jubilee initiatives at his parish. “To me, Jubilee means forgiveness, hope, love and penance,” Benedict says. “Hope is love. Hope is faith. Hope helps you to be humble and appreciative. Hope helps you to be with Jesus.” Benedict’s artwork is a depiction of heaven with flowing waterfalls coming down from the mountains and nourishing the life below. “Water is like God’s mercy coming down from the heavens to the world,” Benedict says.

Many artists explored notions of calmness and peace in their artworks. At the awards ceremony, some artists were invited to chat about their artworks and many described a calmness that came over them during the artistic process. Boonah artist Kate says that if you look at her artwork you can see God’s creation and how calm God is. “When I tense up, I tremor so being calm is especially important for me because everything works better in my body,” Kate says.

Tarooki Activity Leader Lea describes it as a blessing to journey alongside the artists as they participated in the competition. “If ever I need even a slither of hope, I just need to look into the eyes of one of the artists here,” Lea says. “To me, Jubilee is about the Pope encouraging us to take the time to reflect and grow through the process of sharing our love. I hope that in my work I am able to share God’s love with others and allow the hope of Christ to transpire in their own hearts,” Lea says.

CatholicCare extends a particular congratulations to Geoffrey Scott and Susan Mitchell who were the winners of the 2025 Jubilee Art Competition.

Geoffrey’s artwork, ‘Hope on the Horizon’ depicted the moon rising and resting over the land, promising a fresh start when the new day arrives. Susan Mitchell’s artwork, ‘New Life’ explored themes of growth and regeneration. “The sprout in my artwork represents the new growth on the land. A seed pod has fallen from above and regenerated new life. I used embroidery thread on canvas paper to give the artwork a multi-dimensional feel. I wanted the artwork to feel alive and have texture to it, representing a lifelike tree,” Susan says.

Congratulations to all artists who participated! In the words of Bishop Anthony Randazzo, “Beautiful art is a spark of the divine creativity that lives in each of us, and your labours offer us as viewers a moment of enrichment and renewal. May your art fill all who see it with joy, hope and peace.”