Three Echoes – Western Desert Art is currently on display at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, showcasing works by 57 acclaimed artists.
All artists on display in the exhibition herald from Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), Papunya and Utopia Aboriginal communities in the Western Desert region of the Northern Territory, Australia.
Bundaberg is the second stop on the travelling exhibition's touring itinerary.
Artworks in this exhibition have been drawn from the private collection of Andrew Arnott and Karin Schack and reflect the significant artistic developments and moments in time that contributed to the meteoric rise of the Western Desert Art movement.
These artworks hold special meaning for First Nations peoples, communicating important stories of tjukurrpa (Dreaming) and Country.
The relationships within families and ancestors; with flora and fauna; and the unique land formations are the foundations of this art.
Executive Director, Rebekah Butler said the exhibition was a great opportunity for the community to see Western Desert Art.
“Three Echoes – Western Desert Art features some of Australia’s most critically acclaimed artists … including Billy Stockman Tjapaltjarri, Turkey Tolson
Tjupurrula, Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, Narputta Nangala Jugadai, Long Tom Tjapanangka, Dr George Tjapaltjarri, Gloria Petyarre and Emily Kame Kngwarreye,” Rebekah said.
“We are proud to have developed and to be touring this stunningly beautiful Western Desert Art exhibition of paintings, prints and batiks and to share these works with Australian audiences.”
Curator Djon Mundine OAM FAHA said the exhibition was inspired by echoes.
“In the early 1970s, my father once told me of how, when he was a child in Bandjalung country, people coming along the river or through the woods would ‘Coo-ee’ to announce their presence at certain places where their voice would echo repeatedly, reverberating into the distance; to which the receiver would, ‘chant-like’, respond,” Djon Mundine OAM FAHA said.
Three Echoes – Western Desert Art is an initiative of Museums & Galleries Queensland.
Find out more about the exhibition here.
Image: Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri (born c.1935 – 1987) Pintupi language group, Untitled, 1982, synthetic polymer powder paint on composition board, 38 x 76 cm. Photograph by Andrew Curtis. © Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri l Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd
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