MATERIALITY | Araluen Collection

This exhibition brings together artworks from the Araluen Collection where material is central in the art making process. The works demonstrate the way artists make material an active and essential component of the artwork and how it is integral to the artist’s conceptual intent and subsequent outcomes.

Material is shaped, pushed and revealed through the artist’s interaction with it and the artist’s expression is carried through this process. This may be articulated in the texture of a brushstroke, layering of paint, marking an etching plate, the gathering and shaping of bark or through sculpture forms – each element comes together to create a sensory experience.

By tapping into the power of materiality, these artists invite us to engage our senses and stir a wide range of emotions, making their artwork not only deeply meaningful but also powerful.

For example, in Scission II by Peter Adsett, material is fundamental through the relationship of paint and paper. There is no image in this heavily textured black rectangle. There is however action as the work is torn in two, the right side apparently released to the force of gravity, the fall suspended in action. This is an address not just to the eyes, but to the body.

While Iluwanti Ken, a master weaver, chooses a restricted palette to weave complex stories and bring to life a significant Tjukurpa story in Walawulu ngunytju kukaku ananyi (Mother eagles going hunting). The strength of the mark evokes power and movement highlighting the artist’s skill in the use of material. Likewise, her long-time friend and collaborator Mary Pan expertly manipulates paint to imitate the animals of her country and in doing do almost brings them to life in Animal Tjuta.

Dan Murphy sees possibilities in discarded refuse and ‘stitches’ these materials together using wire to evoke country and experience, much like the Greenbush artists who shape a diverse range of discarded materials and bring new life to them in surprising and unexpected ways. This sophistication is demonstrated in Fog horn leg horn the latest masterpiece from this artist group.

Both George Ward Tjungurrayi and Catriona Stanton use their chosen mediums to create the illusion of movement and rhythm, sending vibrations through the works. Tjungurrayi shares his country, could Stanton’s Swathe also be evoking country in its materiality? Barbara Butler, Max Miller and John Wolseley use material to experiment and describe feelings of and connection with country both physically and spiritually.

Curly Bardulgupu gathers bark and ochres from his country, materials he brings to life in his impressive painting representing the powerful Ngalyod (Rainbow Serpent) a significant ancestral creator spirit, associated with water, fertility, and the monsoonal rains. While Albert Namatjira has shaped a piece of corkwood gathered from country. Material he uses as the ground of his painting of Palm Valley – his mother’s country.

Kaapa Tjampitjinpa signals the beginning of the Western Desert art movement through his masterful Ceremony at Waru painting on a discarded wooden panel which not only heralds a shift to a new material it also holds historical evidence of Papunya in 1971. His son Adrian Jangala Robertson also a leading artist breaks new ground with clay to etch his country, an imprint that he holds within him. The mark-making and texture is exquisite, bringing the country to life through the material that incapsulates it.

Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka also transforms clay with her master stroke Artwa tharrala urrknga mpaaritjaarta (Clay work made by two men), depicting a story that pre-dates the formation of Hermannsburg Potter. Material is fundamental in this meticulously crafted pot which juxtaposes an historical moment with innovative creativity.

Featured Artwork: Peter Adsett, Scission II, 2020, [Acrylic on paper 105 x 203 cm], Araluen Arts Centre, Araluen Art Collection.