NT artist explores significance of Hermannsburg in new exhibition at Araluen Arts Centre

The Araluen Arts Centre proudly presents Hermannsburg and Paint, an exhibition by Alice Springs-based artist Neridah Stockley

Hermannsburg and Paint is a presentation of paintings, drawings, etchings, ceramics and collage constructions, developed through access to both the Araluen Art Collection and the Hermannsburg Precinct site in Central Australia.

The exhibition is framed around Albert Namatjira paintings (two within the Araluen Art Collection and one on loan to the Araluen Arts Centre), images that depict buildings, hills, a tent and a gum tree. These are motifs that Neridah has previously and continues to address in her artistic practice.

The exhibition project is grounded in place, but it also addresses absence. Neridah has created a body of work that presents another view of the layered history of the Hermannsburg Precinct.

“Curious about the notion of shelter, I quickly drilled down on the Precinct as a township; place of desert architecture, industry related activity and objects. I visited Hermannsburg and Palm Valley numerous times to work up drawings for paintings. I also looked at secular photos in the Strehlow Research Centre specifically depicting tents and other calico camping structures,” Neridah said.

Neridah’s choice of medium, paint, and the ‘substrate’ it marks on, echo the precinct site, timber and ceramics reflecting the materials of architecture and domestic life in Hermannsburg.

“Neridah has held two previous solo exhibitions at Araluen and has been exhibited widely in commercial galleries and national art prizes such as Hazelhurst Works on Paper Award, The Wynne Prize Salon des Refuse, and more recently the 2019 Guirguis New Art Prize at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. We are excited to share the work she has created here in Central Australia,” Director of Araluen Cultural Precinct, Felicity Green said.

Hermannsburg and Paint will open on Saturday 15 August.

As part of the exhibition, Neridah will deliver an artist’s floor talk, discussing the project and her practice on the opening morning, Saturday 15 August, from 10.30am

Other public programs for the Alice Springs community, including drawing workshops, will be announced over the course of the exhibition.

The exhibition is available to view on the Araluen website from Monday 17 August. All works are available for purchase and enquiries can be made by calling the Box Office on (08) 8951 1122.

Hermannsburg and Paint will show at the Araluen Galleries until Sunday 8 November.

We encourage anyone attending the Araluen Arts Centre to ‘Do the 3’ – wash their hands often, maintain a physical distance of 1.5m from those not known to them, and download the COVIDSafe app. We ask anyone feeling unwell to please stay at home.