Michael Jagamara Nelson was born in Australia and grew up in the traditional Aborigine lifestyle. He learned the ancient painting techniques of his ancestors from his grandfather. From this base he has evolved his own style. These mosaic-like paintings symbolize landscapes, people and animals. Nelson says of his Art Car, "The car is a landscape as if viewed from an airplane--I have included water, the kangaroo and the possum."
Nelson's car started as a black M3 racer. It had won the Australian touring car championship in 1987 and was also raced in 1988. Nelson spent seven long days applying the paint to create this masterpiece.