Press and Editorial
Aboriginal Barks
20 August 2006Bill Gregory, Annandale Galleries
» View Aboriginal Barks exhibition
BARKS for painting are taken from species of Eucalyptus tree and are cut and peeled from the tree during the wet season when they are supple enough to remove. The barks are then treated over fire to flatten and are primed with a light ochre, black or white before painting. The painting is done using natural ochres for the reds and yellows, charcoal for the blacks and special clay for the white. Bark painting in museum collections date back to the last century when examples were brought back by expeditions. The idea of collecting these works then is a relatively new one. New as this market may be, it is far older than the western desert acrylic dot painting movement that dates back to only 1971 and was not collected by Australian museums and galleries until the 1980's. The great Yirrkala church panels were done in 1963 - nearly ten years before the dot painting began.
The last few years have seen a major but steady increase in the market and museum profile of barks. In 2000 the exhibition 'Saltwater' dealing with the Aboriginal relationship to the sea toured Australia and the entire collection of over 80 barks was acquired by the National Maritime Museum. Gawirrin Gumana and Lofty Bardayal Nadjamerrek both received orders of Australia. In 2003, John Mawurndjul became the first indigenous artist to win the prestigious Clemenger prize for contemporary art. In 2005 Mawurndjul became the first Australian artist period since Sydney Nolan in London to have a retrospective in an important overseas museum - at the Tinguely museum in Basel Switzerland. Djambawa Marawili was the featured Aboriginal artist in this year's Sydney Biennale. Both artists are key innovators and leaders of exciting new movements. It is a living, breathing, and cutting edge contemporary art.
DJAMBAWA MARAWILI is the most important artist in my view in the Yirrkala area of NE Arnhemland. In addition to being an artist he is a well-known activist. He is a huge leader of his own community (think Archbishop of Canterbury level without whom ceremonies of death, circumcision or increase cannot proceed)) and highly respected mediator amongst other clans. However, he also maintains a crucial profile in the interaction with white society. He sits on the board of the Australia Council. The freedom and innovation in his recent work is inspiring a whole new generation of painters in NE Arnhemland. Examples from my collection are here.
JOHN MAWURNDJUL has led a virtual revolution in bark painting, transforming the work of his country from what we call x-ray painting, through to his abstract depictions of the Mardayin ceremony referred to now as the 'rarrk style. I have briefly gone through this transformation in images in the talk and examples of the process are here from my collection.
There is a renaissance happening right now in Arnhemland of great importance to Aboriginal art. When the Papunya Tula dot painting movement started in the early 70's, we lacked the knowledge and the prescience to understand its significance. In the case of the great bark painting movements afoot today, museums, the public and the market are better prepared. It is a time of seismic change by artists who are not afraid to experiment. This art is full of surprises, both raw in its energy and polished by its traditions. We are witnessing the culmination of long years of work and the birth of something new and lasting in Australia's cultural continuum that is reaching out to the world. I think it is the most exciting work being made in Australia today. The primary reason taking you through the 'Source of Fire' by Djambawa and from x-ray to 'Rarrk' in the work of Mawurndjul is to underscore the contemporary nature of the work. What are some of the hallmarks of great art? Kandinsky had three criteria to ascertain quality in contemporary art? The first is the strength of the creative urge in the art and the artist - the font if you will from which the work springs. Secondly, the work must be part of its time, reflecting and contributing to the culture from where it comes. Thirdly, the contribution the art will make to the overall human creative continuum. When I look at the continually evolving nature of the art and movements created by Djambawa Marawili and John Mawurndjul and the vast influence they are having on not only their peers but on artists well outside their specific culture, I feel sure as I can reasonably be that I am witnessing great art in the making. Time spent experiencing and learning about this art this art has been for me, always time well spent.
- BILL GREGORY DIRECTOR ANNANDALE GALLERIES
» View Aboriginal Barks exhibition
BARKS for painting are taken from species of Eucalyptus tree and are cut and peeled from the tree during the wet season when they are supple enough to remove. The barks are then treated over fire to flatten and are primed with a light ochre, black or white before painting. The painting is done using natural ochres for the reds and yellows, charcoal for the blacks and special clay for the white. Bark painting in museum collections date back to the last century when examples were brought back by expeditions. The idea of collecting these works then is a relatively new one. New as this market may be, it is far older than the western desert acrylic dot painting movement that dates back to only 1971 and was not collected by Australian museums and galleries until the 1980's. The great Yirrkala church panels were done in 1963 - nearly ten years before the dot painting began.
The last few years have seen a major but steady increase in the market and museum profile of barks. In 2000 the exhibition 'Saltwater' dealing with the Aboriginal relationship to the sea toured Australia and the entire collection of over 80 barks was acquired by the National Maritime Museum. Gawirrin Gumana and Lofty Bardayal Nadjamerrek both received orders of Australia. In 2003, John Mawurndjul became the first indigenous artist to win the prestigious Clemenger prize for contemporary art. In 2005 Mawurndjul became the first Australian artist period since Sydney Nolan in London to have a retrospective in an important overseas museum - at the Tinguely museum in Basel Switzerland. Djambawa Marawili was the featured Aboriginal artist in this year's Sydney Biennale. Both artists are key innovators and leaders of exciting new movements. It is a living, breathing, and cutting edge contemporary art.
DJAMBAWA MARAWILI is the most important artist in my view in the Yirrkala area of NE Arnhemland. In addition to being an artist he is a well-known activist. He is a huge leader of his own community (think Archbishop of Canterbury level without whom ceremonies of death, circumcision or increase cannot proceed)) and highly respected mediator amongst other clans. However, he also maintains a crucial profile in the interaction with white society. He sits on the board of the Australia Council. The freedom and innovation in his recent work is inspiring a whole new generation of painters in NE Arnhemland. Examples from my collection are here.
JOHN MAWURNDJUL has led a virtual revolution in bark painting, transforming the work of his country from what we call x-ray painting, through to his abstract depictions of the Mardayin ceremony referred to now as the 'rarrk style. I have briefly gone through this transformation in images in the talk and examples of the process are here from my collection.
There is a renaissance happening right now in Arnhemland of great importance to Aboriginal art. When the Papunya Tula dot painting movement started in the early 70's, we lacked the knowledge and the prescience to understand its significance. In the case of the great bark painting movements afoot today, museums, the public and the market are better prepared. It is a time of seismic change by artists who are not afraid to experiment. This art is full of surprises, both raw in its energy and polished by its traditions. We are witnessing the culmination of long years of work and the birth of something new and lasting in Australia's cultural continuum that is reaching out to the world. I think it is the most exciting work being made in Australia today. The primary reason taking you through the 'Source of Fire' by Djambawa and from x-ray to 'Rarrk' in the work of Mawurndjul is to underscore the contemporary nature of the work. What are some of the hallmarks of great art? Kandinsky had three criteria to ascertain quality in contemporary art? The first is the strength of the creative urge in the art and the artist - the font if you will from which the work springs. Secondly, the work must be part of its time, reflecting and contributing to the culture from where it comes. Thirdly, the contribution the art will make to the overall human creative continuum. When I look at the continually evolving nature of the art and movements created by Djambawa Marawili and John Mawurndjul and the vast influence they are having on not only their peers but on artists well outside their specific culture, I feel sure as I can reasonably be that I am witnessing great art in the making. Time spent experiencing and learning about this art this art has been for me, always time well spent.
- BILL GREGORY DIRECTOR ANNANDALE GALLERIES