Anniebell Marrngamarrnga, Yawkyawk (Ngalkunburriyaymi), 2019, pandanus (Pandanus spiralis), natural dyes, 235 x 140 x 4 cm – Art Gallery of South Australia, © Anniebell Marrngamarrnga/Copyright Agency.
The Nature of Culture presents recent acquisitions from the Gallery’s collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. This selection of paintings, sculpture and woven works showcases the diversity of materiality and making across regions throughout Australia. It also reflects the creative dynamism that springs from cultural connections to Country.
Each work reveals the artist’s enduring associations to place, their extensive knowledge of important sites and these sites’ ancestral and spirit beings, and their ongoing responsibilities to Country, whether it be land, water or sky. However, these works are more than representations of Country – they are evidence of ownership. Each is an expression of continuing existence, cultural resilience and belonging to place after invasion.
Installation view of ‘The Nature of Culture’, 2022, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo Saul Steed.
SOURCE: Art Gallery of South Australia.