Amata women with their birds from Paarpakani (take flight) – Nyurpaya Kaika-Burton, Yaritji Young, Mary Pan, Ilawanti Ungkutjuru Ken, Paniny Mick 2011; © courtesy the artists and Tjanpi Desert Weavers, NPY Women’s Council, Alice Springs, photo: Jo Foster.
HEARTLAND – Contemporary Art from South Australia
HEARTLAND gathers contemporary work by 45 established and up and coming South Australian artists. It offers new ways of thinking about place, country and identity by presenting the evolving visions of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists. Through their work HEARTLAND’s artists embrace the distinct geographic locations and sensibilities characteristic of South Australia. Underpinned by the desire to work with artists who respond to place in an innovative manner curator Nici Cumpston and Lisa Slade traversed the state – from as far as Amata in the state’s northwest to Mt Gambier in the states south-eastern corner – seeking out those making work with emotion, spirit, resilience and originality.
“Art from the ancestral heart of this country, from the world’s oldest living culture, occupies the centre of the exhibition and features works by the Tjala Arts artists from Amata in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the state’s northwest. The multi-dimensional installation created for HEARTLAND includes figurative sculptures made from tjanpi (spinifex) and found materials, large vibrantlycoloured canvasses and a local language sound component,” Nici Cumpston and Lisa Slade said.
The exhibition includes artists from Amata (Tjala Arts), Kate Breakey, Kim Buck, James Darling and Lesley Forwood, Wendy Fairclough, Stewart MacFarlane, Ian North, Annalise Rees, Chris De Rosa, Yhonnie Scarce, Paul Sloan, Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Angela Valamanesh, Hossein Valamanesh and Amy Joy Watson.
Accompanying the exhibition is a vibrant events program of tours, talks and hands-on arts activities.