Creative drive in the desert goes deep
SLIDESHOW
From the on-going brilliance of artists from The Lands,
in the far north of South Australia, to the delightful evolution of the
soft sculpture coming out of Larapinta Valley town camp in Alice Springs
and the many shades of achievement in between, Desert Mob shows once
again that the drive to creativity amongst Aborigines of the desert is
unabated.
The exhibition, in its 21st year, keeps with its firmly established
tradition of huge diversity: dazzling paintings of the highest order,
drawing on ancient sacred traditions and knowledge, alongside naive
works that charm with their view of contemporary Aboriginal life; fine
art alongside crafts; refined crafts alongside those more simply, even
crudely yet expressively fashioned. KIERAN FINNANE reviews.
Opening night (above): the soft sculptures of
the Larapinta Valley town camp artists were much admired. In the
background are the dazzling paintings from Tjala Arts, based at Amata in
the APY Lands.
Slideshow: Wanampi Tjukurpa by Tiger Palpatja •
Wati Wilu-Ku Inma Tjukurpa by Dickie Minyintiri • Soft sculptures by
Yarrenyty Arltere artists • Hermannsburg Potters celebrate country music
• Bush Pig by a Greenbush artist • Ngaanyatjarra Council's 30th
Birthday Party by Jean Yinalanka Burke • Malilanya, ceramic by Renita
Stanley • Walu by Carol Maanyatja Golding • Images courtesy Araluen, the
artists and the art centres.
Spoof, irony, angst and affection in Souvenir show
SLIDESHOW
In colloquial speech, to souvenir something means
to steal it. This is the drift of some of the objects created for
Souvenir, an exhibition at Watch This Space, the Space's show for the
Alice Desert Festival. It "explores the wilds of central Australia via
the imagery of keepsake". KIERAN FINNANE reviews.
Pictured above: Shaken, Rattled and Rolled by Jane Leonard – souvenirs of life-changing moments instead of geographical places.
Slideshow: Alice Springs – Bleeding Heart
Central, detail of map by Franca Barraclough and Beth
Sometimes • Cultural AppropriApron by Hannah-May Caspar • The Sorry
Souvenir Phenomenon, detail, by Beth Sometimes • Toile de jouy – The
fabric of life, detail, by Mel Darr • Littel Well by Jane Young • "I've
been to Alice Springs but I've never been to me" by Jane Leonard
• Shaken, Rattled and Rolled by Jane Leonard • A Keepsake for the
Local by Kim Webeck • No Snow Dome – The East Side Pole (left) and No
Snow Dome – Flynn's Grave, both by Dan Murphy.
