Spirit in the Land

Emily Kngwarreye Kame Colour. 1995, Acrylic on canvas, 151 x 90 cm.

Emily Kngwarreye, 151 x 90cm, 1995, Acrylic on canvas.

'Spirit in the Land' is a stunning exhibition, being held at the Flinders University City Gallery, State library of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide. The artists featured are Australia's most influential artists; Lorraine Connelly-Northey, John Davis, Russell Drysdale, Rosalie Gascoigne, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Dorothy Napangardi, Sidney Nolan, John Olsen, Lin Onus, Rover Thomas and Fred Williams. This exhibition beautifully illustrates shared themes and cultural exchanges, between indigenous and non indigenous Australian Artists. Although Rosalie Gasgoigne was a New Zealander.
Robert Lindsay, Director, McClelland Gallery+Sculpture Park, said "Spirit in the land is about iconic works that talk about the land and their relationship to the formation of an Australian identity".

Hossein and Angela Valamanesh

Hosseinh  valamanesh, 'Dot painting for Beginers' 1999, coloured sands and glory vine leaves on linen, 46 x 92cm.

Hossein Valamanesh, Dot Painting with Tablets, 1999, Warafin, Angine, Zocar tablets on paper, 42 x 42.

Hossein and Angela Valamanesh, 2007. untitled, Rubinia Leaves, wax varnish on paper, 75 x 100cm.

The artist Hossein valamanesh relects his love and respect for  indigenous art, that so impressed him whilst visiting Pupunya in the 70s, soon after arriving from Iran. Valamanesh mentions in his UNISA 'artists talk' how he was deeply moved by the Pupunya peoples sacred art and connection to the land and this connection to the natural world has influenced valamanesh's work thus far. 

Tandanya, Mangkaia Arts

I have just been to see the Mangkaia Arts exhibition at Tandanya in Grenville Street. The artists exhibiting are based in Fitzroy Crossing, WA This exhibition is stunning and I was amazed at the vividness and sheer beauty of the paintings. There is great diversity within the exhibition, but my favourite painting is by Phyliss Waye titled 'My Mothers Country', 2011, Atelier acrylic on canvas,120 x120cm, $2. 918. This is a painting made up of a profusion of dots, in bright pastel shades. Waye describes it as seeing the wildflowers around the water holes in her mothers country. It is abstract and an optical illusion, because when I stood back and looked at it it seemed to move and dance before my eyes, much like flowers move in a gentle breeze. I was stunned. As I moved closer, the abstraction took on another form of texture, light and colour, I found this painting  extremely moving, emotionally because it was such a remarkable sensory experience.

The relevance of traditional art forms applied to contemporary urban context

Traditional weaving as in the Ngarrindjeri tradition and cross hatching (rark) is as relevant today as it has been for thousands of years. I feel strongly that the traditional knowledge and methods, of producing art and objects that are brought forward and used in contemporary culture has a long,  historical precedence, referencing previous styles and practices in art, brings rich layers of meaning and connection to the past. These traditional methods and practices change and adapt to new technologies and culture. In many ways this reflects Lin Onus's work 'Dingoes',  which as a species has had to adapt and change to survive and prosper.

Yvonne Koolmatrie, Rover Thomas and Lin Onus.

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Rover Thomas (Joolama), Barramundi Dreaming, 300 x 136 cm, Natural Pigment on Paper. (artsearch.nga.gov.au)








Yvonne Koolmatrie, Standing in front of her weaving, made from Murray river sedge grasses. Koolmatrie has reinvented the traditional Ngarrindjeri weaving traditions from the lower Murry River and given new interpretations to the traditional eel trap baskets s. (Google images, The Advertiser,Yvonne Koolmatrie)










Lin Onus, Yorta Yorta People, 'Dingoes', 1989, Synthetic polymer paint on fibreglass, wire and metal. and
(cs.nga.gov.au)












Lin Onus's work does express a deep sense of loss in many of his works, However I think that loss is not his main message, Onus's mandate is acknowledging Indigenous history from an Aboriginals view point, and bringing his art into sharp focus in the public realm  and in so doing, challenging perceptions of white history that was predominately taught in schools and the white bias of  interpreting Indigenous history. Lin Onus with great humour and acute observation, makes his message clear, often metaphorically,  His own view of the story of indigenous and white history.

Ricky Maynard

Ricky Maynard's Photograph in Art and soul is an immensely powerful image. Even without knowing the terrible context in which this image was created, it would still have an enormous impact on the viewer. This is, in my opinion, a universally powerful message. The solitary figure of Ricky stands alone in a vast seascape. The tonal quality of the image is somber, grey and muted, The composition is simple and spare. Maynard stands in damp drooping clothes, slightly hunched, looking searchingly out to sea. There is no ambiguity in this image, it speaks simply and powerfully of loneliness, longing and displacement. This is an experience that most people have felt in their lives and would instantly connect to.

Destiny Deacon

To gain a deeper and more satisfying understanding and insight into Destiny Deacons work, it is very  important to have some understanding and knowledge of the socio/political issues that Deacon is expressing through her art. I think it is also useful to have access to informed analysis of Destiny Deacons images and ideas, because on a personal level, when first viewing her Photographs/prints, I did not understand the messages and ideas that Destiny was constructing, through her dioramas of dolls and domestic objects. However the emotional   response that these images elicited, without my having any knowledgeable  understanding of Deacons background or context,  was of horrified fascination. I wondered, what is she  saying to me? The images are like a still, fleeting moments in a long movie, you know there is more and that you will know the story if only you could see the rest of the movie. So in having that silent and still glimpse  into something much bigger, felt unsettling and disturbing. I felt like a detective, trying to solve an impossible puzzle. I enjoy her eloquent riddles and feel very strongly that this is what good art is all about.

Albert Namatjira

'Ghost Gum', 1945, watercolour on paper, 41 x 31 cm .
Albert Namatjira
(google images.com)

Albert Namatjira, born 1902 - 1959. Arramina People.

Albert Namatjira was the first Australian Artist  to sensitively and accurately recreate the colour, light and distances of the Australian landscape,which Albert knew so intimately.

'Namatjira' is a new theatre production about to open at 'The Malthouse Theatre", Melbourne. On August 10 - 28 . Trevor Jamison, performs the role of Namatjira in this production. This is what his advice is to young indigenous performers "Listen to your elders and stay at school. Keep things that come naturally. That will be your strength in life".

Published in the Age 'M' Magazine, page 6. on Sunday, August 7, 2011.

'Simpson's Gap' water colour on paper 38 x 52cm.
Albert Namatjira
(google images.com)

Dreamtime

Further to my exploration and understanding of the meaning of 'Dream Time', in Aborginal Religion, I found some interesting excerpts from the book titled;
 'Aboriginal Art',  Authored by Morphy Howard, Chapers/page No. Ch. 3 : pp 67 - 100. Published by Phaidon, London in 1998 ISBN 0714837520. here are some of them;

'Deamtime' is not something that can be translated by a short phrase: It involes an exploration of Aboriginal ideas about the nature of the world'.

'Aboriginal religion is concerned with a continual dynamic process to produce new life, with a stability in a world of acknowledged change. It is this accomodation of change and process that has enabled Aboriginal Religion to maintain its relevance in a rapidly changing world.'

'Dreamtime is  space, time, past, present, future, demension of reality as a time period'.

'The myths are concerned with the creation of something out of nothing. They are the Aboriginal model of the Big Bang, when the universe was created and set on its journey to the present.'Spirit ancestors left their mark on the landscape. Before man there were ancetral beings who shaped the world, and were not subject to the constraints of every day life, they were shape changers. and are oftern depicted in Aboriginal art in abstract geometric form.'

Indigenous Arts, culture and design

I know very little about Indigenous arts, culture and design, but what I have been exposed to, so far is very exciting and richly layered. What is most astonishing to me, is the immense time frame that exists in Australian Aboriginal culture and I look forward to learning more.
The concept of 'Dreaming' in Aboriginal culture is something I hear frequently. This is what 'The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, Kleinart and Neal, Published by Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2000. page 577, has to say. 'Dreaming can refer to three different, though closely related aspects of Aboriginal culture. The best known usage is linked to the idea of the 'Dreaming' synonymous with the '(Dreamtime)', which usually refers to an archaic, but eternal, time of ancestral creation closely connected to this is the idea of 'Dreamings' which is used when referring to particular ancestral stories, totems, and or physical manifestations of these. Finally 'dreaming' retains its usual English meanings with reference to nocturnal visions. The development of 'Dreams' and 'Deamings' as English gloss for Aboriginal and non Aboriginal communities.
Strethlow's translation for 'Alcherings" (Dreaming) is ('Out of all eternity,' from all eternity' and ever from the beginings')

The meaning of Gubba

You may be wondering what Gubba means? Well it is an Aboriginal term for a white person. the terrm Gubba was used to describe a 'white government man in the 1800's' , who were  generaly touble for the indigenous communities of Australia. The word Gubba is still used today and has a variety of associations, which I am sure you are keen to explore. The reason I chose this title for my blog is because in each country that I have lived and worked, I have been given a 'name" in new Zealand it is 'Pakeha', In England it is 'the Colonial', in Hong Kong, 'Gweilo' and now I am 'Gubba'. This is by far my favourite and though I am not associated with government, I am white/beige, in appearnce. But as you know, my dear bloggers appearnces can be decieving. I like Gubba because it has a resonance of sound and is satisfying to pronounce. Most importantly to me personaly is That Australia is the land that I am most happy to be and feel a great sense of peace. Australia is where I found true love and bore my children. So the Australian land is part of me now. Here is a interesting web site you may like to visit. http://www.creativespiritsinfo/aboriginalculture/language/

tracey moffatt Invocations

Tracey Moffatts 'Invocation' series is composed of 13 images

reflecting a dream like landscape, murky and ambiguous,

expressing the subconscious desires and fears of the waking day. 

These images are beautifully constructed of layer

upon layer of transparent photographic silk screens.

building up luminous surfaces of colour, depth and shade. 

Tracey Moffatt often features  as the central figure

of her narrative  works. This series of images was influenced by a recurring dream.