Country to Coast takes you on a visual journey through the Kimberley, a remote region in north-western Australia with a rich art tradition. You will be taken to see the ochre colours of the East Kimberley, the brilliant colours of the southern landscape and finally an explosion of colour on the western coast of Australia.
In the powerful canvases in ochres by renowned artists such as Rover Thomas, Queenie McKenzie and Paddy Bedford you will see striking sites and features of the country in the East Kimberley. Major historical events are also incorporated into the paintings.
In the southern area bordering The Great Sandy Desert personal stories about the country, gathering food and ceremonies are painted in very bright, expressive colours. This can be seen in works by Wakartu Cory Surprise, Nora Wompi and Sonia Kurarra of the major artist communities of Balgo, Mangkaja Arts and Fitzroy Crossing.
The artists of the West Kimberley paint mental images of the country from which their families were driven away in the 1960s as a consequence of droughts. With ochres and also deep blue and vibrant green colours, their palette evokes both the desert and the tropical coastal area. Artists presented in this section of the exhibition include Lydia Balbal, Alma Webou and Daniel Walbidi.
The Wandjina of the northern and central Kimberley
A special room is devoted to bark paintings of the Wandjina. These ancestral beings created the country, are responsible for monsoons, lagoons and rivers, and left spectacular art behind on rocks in the Kimberley.
This exhibition has been made possible with the support of: Pacific Fund managed by Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, KF Heinfonds, Elise Mathilde Fonds, Rabobank Utrecht and Rio Tinto.
Queenie McKenzie. Hills at Argument Gap, 1996, 80x100cm (Thomas Vroom Collectie)