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ABORIGINAL ART ACROSS
AUSTRALIA An exhibition of key works from the Burrinja – Shire of Yarra Ranges Indigenous Collection Curator: Tiriki Onus |
Aboriginal art has its roots in a very ancient culture,
but artists today are also expressing issues of social justice, cultural
practices and spirituality born from the last two hundred years of colonisation.
Curated by Tiriki Onus, this exhibition aims to highlight the vast diversity
in Aboriginal cultural and artistic practice across Australia. This feature exhibition includes many significant Collection and loan works that have not been exhibited at Burrinja for over five years, giving the viewer an overview of Aboriginal art from five major regions of Australia. Traditional and contemporary works from both established and emerging artists have been chosen for the exhibition. The artists represented include some of the most internationally respected artists in Australia. |
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Aboriginal Art across Australia features: Key
works on bark and canvas from Western Arnhem land that depict the rich
cultural and artistic traditions of this important ii region
Central desert works by Gloria Petyarre, Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Johnny
Warangkula Tjupurrula, demonstrating theii meanings woven within the seemingly abstract forms and often vivid colours of this seminal region for Aboriginal art
Paintings from the Kimberley on board and on canvas; from major works
by Rover Thomas and Queenie McKenzie, to a danceii board by Paddy Bedford painted in his inimitable style and an important new work by Senior Ngarinyin law man Jack Dale
Major works by Lin Onus – demonstrating a remarkable pastiche of
the traditional and the contemporary, melding seamlessly into ii
unique statements of culture, aesthetic and politics by this internationally
renowned south-eastern artist
A series of works by Michael Aspinal from the Yalata region in SA that
are not only original in composition, but which also bringii wonderful humour to the indigenous cultural landscape.
Film: Jack Dale - Mengenen |
Regions – Aboriginal Art |
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| The Kimberley, Western Australia Covering more than 400,000 square kilometres, the Kimberley is a land of dramatic mountain ranges, extensive plains, remarkable waterfalls and rivers. It is one of the most spectacular and beautiful regions of Australia. Within the region there are four main communities producing art: Warmun, Balgo, Kalumburu and Fitzroy Crossing. Each region produces a different style of work. A number of artists who were from the Warmun community are featured in the exhibition, including Rover Thomas, Queenie McKenzie and Paddy Bedford. The Warmun community was one of the first communities to produce art for sale when in the late 1970’s boards painted with ochres and produced for ceremonies started to be collected. Today most works are painted on canvas using traditional ochres. Works from the Kimberley region in this exhibition include one of Australia’s most respected artists, Rover Thomas, Julama (1926-1998). One of Australia’s two representatives at the Venice Biennale in 1990, Rover Thomas had a profound effect on Aboriginal art. His paintings moved Aboriginal art to the forefront of international contemporary art. Minimal imagery and a sense of space, while portraying the most complex of experiences with highly textured ochre surfaces characterize his works. Queenie McKenzie, Nakarra (1920-2000), a relative of Rover Thomas, was also part of the Warmun art community. Her work stands out through her unusual use of pink and purple tones of ochres in contrast to the more usual browns, yellows and reds of many Kimberley artists of the time. Limestone Hills, Texas Downs is a beautiful example of her work. It depicts the hills of her birth place, Texas Downs cattle station in East Kimberley. |
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Limestone Hills, Texas Downs, Queenie
McKenzie. Ochres on canvas, 1995. Courtesy Neil McLeod Fine Arts. |
| Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory Situated in the “Top End” of Northern Australia, Arnhem Land covers an area of 150,000 square kilometres. It is home to some of the oldest rock art sites in Australia. There are seven major communities producing art in Arnhem Land today and many smaller centres. Featured in the exhibition are three works from the Gunbalanya (Oenpelli), Western Arnhem Land region. The art of this region is known for superb crosshatching or Rarrk work and the depiction of the internal organs of animals, birds and fish, often described as X-ray art. The three works are all by members of the Nganjmirra family. These works are part of a continuing art tradition handed down through the family for many generations. The eldest son of Nawakadj (Bobby) Nganjmirra, artist and storykeeper and one of the last rock painters in Arnhem Land; Alex Nganjmirra’s work follows in the proud tradition of his father. Alex was raised in the bush near the Goomadeer River in Western Arnhem Land and lives at Gunbalanya (Oenpelli). He is part of a continuing art tradition that has been handed down through his family for many generations. Namarrrkon, Lightning and Thunder Man by Nawakadj (Bobby) Nganjmirra (1935) shows the story of an ancient spirit Namarrkon, rising from a waterhole, painted in a contemporary style. Namarrkon brings the dramatic electrical storms, which occur, in Arnhem Land. He can make thunder and lightning and strike people down. He is often depicted with lightning around his body and axes on his arm joints and knee joints. He makes thunder by hitting the ground with these axes. The power of Namarrkon comes from his genitals. In the wet season, he lives in the clouds. Today works at Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) are produced on traditional bark, paper and canvas. Unique to this area is the depiction of the internal organs of animals, birds and fish described as X-ray art. Differences between the art from Western and Central Arnhem Land and East Arnhem Land are mainly that artists from the Eastern areas usually fill the whole canvas with crosshatching, unlike Western artists who generally only fill in defined figures with crosshatching on plain backgrounds. |
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Kunarlaku – Spirit Woman, Eva
Nganjmirra. Ochres on linen, 1996. Burrinja Collection. |
| South Eastern Australia Aboriginal artists from South Eastern Australia are visionaries, activists, commentators and messengers. Experiences are expressed through their artwork, often dealing with issues of social justice, spirituality, and cultural practices and interpretation. Widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the aboriginal art movement in urban Australia, Lin Onus (1948-1996), was from a very early age instilled with a strong social conscience and desire to fight for the underdog. Lin had a long association with Aboriginal elders from Arnhem Land, which led to the development of his distinctive style, incorporating traditional Rarrk work from Arnhem land with his realist Western style landscapes. |
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Fish and Leaves (detail), Lin Onus.
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. Courtesy Onus Family Estate. |
| South Australia Born at Yalata, South Australia Jonathan Kumintjara Brown (1960-1997) was a member of the Pitjantjatjarra tribe. He was separated from his parents at an early age and raised by a white family. In the early eighties, he returned to South Australia and rediscovered his true heritage, that of Oak Valley, Ooldea and Maralinga. He learned that his traditional country included Maralinga, the infamous nuclear test site north of Yalata, where nuclear testing by the British and Australian Governments took place, between 1953 and 1957. Jonathan turned to painting to express his emotions about the overwhelming devastation of his country by these tests. He painted images of the land, with its red earth bare after the explosions. Gigantic portraits of lustred sandhills, in yellows, browns and whites, their haunting presence stating both their profundities and elegance in art became his hallmark. |
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Patterns in Country, Jonathan Kumintjarra-Brown.
Ochres and sand on canvas. Courtesy Neil McLeod Fine Arts |
| Central Australia The vast Central and Western desert areas of Australia are home to the most widely represented form of Aboriginal art, the ‘dot’ style of work, executed with acrylic paints. Emily Kame Kngwarreye (c1910-1996), acknowledged as one of the most brilliant Aboriginal artists of all time, is represented by her work Aralatyite Dreaming (Bush Potato dreaming). Emily came from Utopia, an area 275 kms north of Alice Springs, Central Australia. In a career that spanned just 7 years, Emily painted over 3,500 works on canvas, and single handedly repainted the art history books of Australia. Emily painted her own unique vision of her country – Utopia. Her paintings are visual songs and a celebration of life. |
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Aralatyite Dreaming, Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
Ochres on linen. Courtesy Neil McLeod Fine Arts. |
Further reading for this
exhibition: References and Recommended
Reading Dreamtime Aboriginal Art, The dark and the light Kumwinjku Spirit, Creation Stories from Western
Arnhem Land Papunya Tula, Art of the Western Desert Urban dingo, the art and life of Lin Onus 1948-
1996 |
RONNIE SEXTON AISLING GHEAL (bright dream) 16 October - December 2008 OPENING 7PM THURSDAY 16TH OCTOBER |
Award winning Irish born sculptor Veronica “Ronnie” Sexton trained at London College of Furniture, and obtained her Graduateship and Higher Diploma in Woodcarving and Gold Leaf Gilding at City and Guilds of London Art School. On completing art school, Ronnie worked for several years in restoration, including extensive work on Windsor Castle. She has also worked on commissions in the USA, Malaysia and Ireland. Ronnie’s strict classical training in Gothic, Baroque and Rocco woodcarving has evolved into a more relaxed and freer flowing style event in her work in this exhibition. Ronnie always believed that there would come a time that “I would take what I had learned from traditional wood carving and allow it to evolve into sculpture”. Her up and coming show, “Aisling Gheal” (meaning ‘Bright Dream’), represents this change. Ronnie predominately works from salvaged timber from the Dandenong Ranges and her works vary in height to 3.5 metres. ‘Faceless Angel’, is the first of Ronnie’s wood carved sculptures where the work has evolved through the natural characteristics of the timber. Unlike classical carving where it is important to have an unblemished piece of timber, here the individual characteristics of the timber such as knots and cracks become the fundamental features of the work itself. This works also signifies the incorporation of crystals into Ronnie’s work for the first time. Since the creation of ‘Faceless Angel’,
many of Ronnie’s recent works use slabs of wood that have imperfections.
“I believe that we should work with Mother Nature, rather than
making her work for us, that is why I leave the bark on and I work with
knots, cracks and imperfections and incorporate them in my overall design”.
Ronnie says that while her work lends itself to various cultures it
is not religious, she has evolved a distinctive style that is heavily
influenced by her Celtic origins. Celtic crosses, spirals and knotwork
meld with angels, wings, crystals, rocks and glass. Feminine energy
and the fusion of cultures also play a significant role in Ronnie’s
work. “We must stop looking at our differences and see that we
all come from the same source, that is why I’m interested in all
religions and cultures and I feel comfortable to incorporate their imagery
and symbolism in my work”. SOUNDSCAPES OF A BRIGHT DREAM Music of spirituality and art. Featuring guitar music with live electro-acoustic processing and chanting set amidst the Aisling Gheal exhibition. Jarek Czechowicz – guitar, voice Cost - $12pp
In the mystical and magical gallery space of the angelic and nature beings created by master woodcarver Ronnie Sexton come along and take part in a special and inspired program… Shakti (goddess) Mantra Chanting - Psychic Moon Madras – Deep and Restorative Meditation. Connect more deeply with the Angelic Realms and your True Inner Nature, all under the blessings of the full moon. Lead by Laya Clode-Ross (Sannyasi Layavidya) who has over 15 years experience as a dedicated and qualified Yoga Teacher, Healer, Counsellor, and Initiate. Cost - $40pp |
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| See what we have planned at Burrinja Take a tour of some of the
highlights of our recent exhibitions |
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