Lin Onus and Mandjad Productions The Ongoing adventures of X and Ray

This series features an unlikely pair of travel companions X the stingray and Ray the Dingo. The late Lin Onus first portrayed these characters, X and Ray, in a 1992 his work titled, Michael and I are just slipping down the pub for a minute. This work features an ochre-striped dingo surfing a rarrked stingray atop a Japanese Hokusai-style wave. These characters were charged with supernatural qualities based on indigenous thinking and shared stories.

Following these painted works was the creation of a series conceived and made in collaborative spirit with fellow artist Michael Eather as three-dimensional forms in fibreglass. Lin’s son Tiriki Onus, who had always been included in the projects, worked with his father and Michael in their respective studios. The stingray holds special significance for Michael just as the dingo is integral to the work of Tiriki and Lin, up until Lin's untimely death in 1996.

Since Lin’s untimely death in 1996, Michael and Tiriki have continued The Ongoing Adventures of X and Ray in 2D and 3D. Whilst X and Ray have often made political statements, their primary intention is to remain light-hearted creatures of whimsy.