Meet the Artist: Shaun Daniel Allen (Shal)
The creative behind the artwork at HOKA Pitt Street Sydney.
Shaun Daniel Allen (Shal) is a Yugambeh born, Bundjalung artist currently working and living on Gadigal Land. His texture-rich paintings initially came to being as a form of meditation through expressive linework. During a significantly challenging time,Shal found solace in his artistic practice and in connection with Community; two integral elements that continually inform his artworks and practice.
“I make intentional marks with feeling, using techniques that I am continually changing and developing through discussions and observations.”
Inspired by the DIY approach he was introduced to through the punk/hardcore scene he has been part of since he was a teen, Shal gravitates toward spaces in art making that share a similar ethos of no limitations, in which he feels free to create. Resulting, there is a fluidity of motion that resonates through his paintings, moments in which the viewer is invited to observe spontaneous movement that is driven by intuition.
LANDSCAPE AS INSPIRATION
“Country isn’t just something that’s far away. Drawing inspiration from landscape, and especially water, the way light plays on it, the patterns in nature.”
The artwork draws inspiration from the rock formations of Sydney's coastal headlands, where vibrant orange lichen covered stones contrast against the deep blue-green ocean. Shal immerses himself in these landscapes, observing their colours, textures, and shifting light before translating them into paint. Created for HOKA Pitt Street, the work references the waterways and coastline that shape his daily experience, drawing on the forms, colours, and rhythms of the places he walks and surfs each day.
LINES THAT COME FROM SOMEWHERE
Shal’s signature flowing linework emerged naturally through the act of painting. During meditative sessions on large sheets of butcher’s paper, recurring lines began to appear. It wasn’t until he looked down from an airplane window that their source became clear: they were river lines.
“The paintings are just me laying it out. It’s expressing yourself.”
Working at a large scale on the floor, Shal paints intuitively, using his whole body to guide each mark and allowing the composition to unfold organically.
ROOTED IN COUNTRY
Shal still makes trips back to Yugambeh country to collect natural ochres - materials that carry the landscape directly into the work. Sydney (Eora Nation) introduced a different coastline, different light, different shapes. But home stays central.
"I'm always going to be referencing home the most."
Acknowledgement Of Country
In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia, their diversity, histories, knowledge, and their continuing connections to land and community. We pay our respects to all Australian Indigenous Peoples and their cultures, and to Elders past, present, and emerging.