Liliana Barbieri
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Liliana Barbieri is an Australian artist and arts educator. Born in central Italy, she has lived in Melbourne since early childhood. Following a long career in international aviation Liliana returned to her first love – painting - when she took up formal studies in Fine Arts at RMIT University, graduating in 2001 with a Masters in Fine Art. During her final year of studies she was awarded the National Gallery of Victoria Trustees Award and a number of awards and grants have followed since then.
Exhibiting regularly in Australia and overseas, Liliana has shown internationally in China, Korea, Italy, USA and the UK. Her work is held in a number of collections in Australia and overseas including the Australian Consulate General in Guangzhou, China. When not in her studio making art, she lectures in Design Theory and Visual Culture.
Installation, multi-media and conceptual art makes up a large part of her practice which is research and project based. Using various techniques and art forms, her work includes painting, photography and collage. Liliana’s work often traces the nuances of personal and cultural memory while exploring the formal qualities of dark and light, colour and movement to manifest her ideas.
A range of works viewable at www.lilibarbieri.com
Email contact: lilibarbieri9@hotmail.com
ARTIST'S REASON FOR PARTICIPATING
The adorable Suki immediately caught my attention and it was love at first sight! She’s so agile and playful and her movements are so graceful. Her balletic poses inspire and encourage me to embrace the physical! She looks inquisitive, curious and engaged in her environment – all qualities prized by many artists.
My decision to participate in this project was fuelled by my conviction that these wonderful animals must continue to survive and thrive well into the future. I am currently awaiting the arrival of my first grandchild and I’d like to think he or she will have the opportunity of knowing this lovable species and be able to engage with them well into the future. Female orangutans are amazing mothers who stay with their young for up to eight years! I catch myself wondering what kind of grandmothers they make? My hope is that each small intervention will aid the survival of this critically endangered species.
SUKI
From Uncertain Origins to a New Life at Sungai Awan
Not much is known about Suki’s early life, but her journey took a hopeful turn when she arrived at International Animal Rescue’s (IAR) centre in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, in 2011. She was one of eleven orangutans transferred from the Sintang Centre as part of a large intake, requiring quick preparations and thorough health assessments.
Suki is an adult female orangutan, grouped with others like Neng, Pingky, Cinta, Raja, and Jimo. Though her past is undocumented, her future quickly became brighter.
Following medical check-ups—including x-rays, blood tests, and dental assessments—Suki was relocated to the new Sungai Awan facility, a spacious site offering more freedom, enrichment, and socialisation opportunities for IAR’s growing orangutan population.
Upon arrival, Suki and her enclosure mate Neng were placed in one of the new socialisation cages, where they immediately climbed to the top to inspect their surroundings—a sign of alertness, confidence, and curiosity.
Now settled, Suki enjoys the stimulation of daily enrichment, increased space, and the company of other orangutans. Her environment may not yet be a forest, but it’s a world away from the confinement she once knew.
Suki’s story reminds us that even when beginnings are unclear, the chance for a better life—and perhaps one day, release—can still lie ahead.