George Morant - An Australian Original

Morant's 'Murder Red Country' series spanned more than 30 paintings over more than a decade and covered many of the less savoury realities of the early white settlement of Australia; genocide, rape and forced slavery. A small section of the series covers the still taboo subject of consenting relationships between white women and indigenous men.

'Trackers and Troopers', the first of five exhibitions for Morant at Michel Sourgnes Fine Arts featured 'Western Tracker' a large canvas later selected by Sue Smith for part of the travelling exhibition 'Landscape as Metaphor', which toured Eastern Australia in 2001 and 2002 after premiering at Townsville's Perc Tucker Regional Gallery.

In 2004 a retrospective of Morant's work was shown at the Dowse Gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. Many pieces from the Murder Red Country were shown at this exhibition which was opened by the then Prime Minster Helen Clarke to rave reviews from both the media and the New Zealand public.