Spirit in the Land

The Spirit in the Land exhibition currently on display at the Flinders City Gallery features a range of works relating to the Australian environment.

"Spirit in the Land explores the connection between eleven Australian artists, historical and contemporary, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and their special appreciation and engagement to the spiritual ethos and power of the land."

The majority of the works represented the Australian outback as a dark isolating place, as was discussed in the tute, which can be seen in the works by Russell Drysdale and Sydney Nolan. This theme is also seen in the work of such Aboriginal artists such as Rover Thomas. Here in 'Bedford Downs' (1984) the representation of the landscape is also dark and threatening but is not figurative; and rather is painted in the abstract style of traditional aboriginal art. Thomas "combines an aerial and profile view of the enormous space and landform once used for farming, hinting at a tragedy that Thomas fully fully explores in another painting titled 'Bedford Downs Massacre' 1985."

The Crow Trap, Russell Drysdale, 1941

'Bedford Downs', Rover Thomas, 1984

One artwork which stood out from the depictions of a harsh threatening land was 'Kame Colour II' by Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Kngwarreye is from Alhalkere which is home to her people the Anmatyerre and the Yam Dreaming. As such she is a custodian of the Yam Dreaming and knows all parts of and the growth cycle of the atnwelarr pencil yam. Kngwarreye paints all parts of the yam in her painting 'Kame Colour II'. She calls this way of painting 'whole lot' and uses it to "describe the physical, cultural and spiritual associations of her country in the one painting". This painting stood out for me as it depicted a vibrant expressive image of the Australian landscape, in contrast to much of the darker works in the collection. The pictures twisting lines almost seem to come to life.

'Kame Colour II', Emily Kame Kngwarreye, 1995

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