To rise and appear: Tarnanthi at AGSA
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In the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the area now known as the Tarntanya/Adelaide Plains, Tarnanthi means ‘to rise, come forth, spring up, or appear’. This is certainly true of the spirit of Tarnanthi 2023 as surmised by Western Arrernte/Yankunytjatjara artist Robert Fielding, who delivered a commanding keynote address at Tarnanthi’s official opening event. Robert declared that it was with grace and power that with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had come together to celebrate Blak excellence in the immediate wake of Australians voting against First Nations people being recognised in the nation’s constitution. The message was clear: We’ve survived the adverse effects of the colony with grace before, and we will continue to do so again.
One of the great strengths of Tarnanthi is the group exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), and it opened with an extraordinary body of work by Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu (Gumatj), including paintings on found board, larrakitj, and bark. It’s no surprise that curator Nici Cumpston (Barkindji) installed the works here, as these are the first you encounter as you make your descent into the exhibition space. They are Djakaŋu’s sublime and unique renditions of the Djulpan story and the Seven Sisters, yet they retain subtle flourishes which acknowledge the creative and cultural influences that have impressed upon her, from her distinguished family of artists to other leading senior practitioners working out of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka, Yirrkala’s art centre.
I had the great pleasure of travelling across the Pilbara with Nici in July of 2022, and while visiting Martumili Artists, I watched the art centre staff lay out a roll of unstretched canvas paintings by Martu artist Bugai Whyoulter. Nici was considering paintings for inclusion in this iteration of Tarnanthi, so it was a personal delight to encounter Bugai’s installation, seeing her works go from the art centre floor to the walls of AGSA. The selection of works is dreamy. Bugai is a master of gesture, constructing a soft palette of colours and laying down energetic marks to record the Country she belongs to. Bugai is focused on reinvention, of telling us about her relationship with the land in her terms. She should very much be credited as helping usher in a new phase of abstraction within the field of Western Desert painting, as evidenced by this exceptional body of work.
The following gallery space has a fun, playful installation of works that speak to and with each other, evidenced in a suite of beautiful bird paintings by Walmajarri artist Nyangulya Katie Nalgood, ceramics by Western Aranda potter Judith Pungarta Inkamala, and paintings, soft sculpture and video work by several artists who make through Tangentyere and Yarrenyty Arltere Artists. Judith’s ceramics, in the typical style of the Hermannsburg Potters, are joyful and capture her lived experience around Ntaria/Hermannsburg, but also reflect her knowledge of life experiences and her working as a potter. A detail of one work features artists from the studio firing their ceramics the ‘old ways’, over a fire, before they had a kiln. Across the works, Judith’s humour is evident, and she has a great style of painting that gives each work a sense of energy and drama.
The coveted solo exhibition at AGSA in this year’s Tarnanthi goes to the well-deserving Western Aranda artist Vincent Namatjira. This is Vincent’s first major survey exhibition in a state gallery and it’s incredibly varied. There are the important paintings one would recognise, such as Vincent’s winning work from the 2020 Archibald Prize, Stand strong for who you are, and Close Contact which won the 2019 Ramsay Art Prize. But to me, the best are also the new works made by Vincent with his friends, including a collaborative painting with Gundungurra-based artist Ben Quilty, the pair having painted themselves and their studio dogs, and a series of delicately playful pop-out books by Vincent and Kuku Yalanji/Girramay artist Tony Albert, that continue Vincent’s commentary on the Royal Tour.
The satellite shows for Tarnanthi are varied in medium and levels of success. The real triumph is the solo exhibition of Pitjantjatjara artist Timo Hogan, ‘Kumpilpa Ngaranyi – Unseen’ at Light Square Gallery. These are gorgeous large-scale works all depicting Lake Barker. In speaking to the sentience of his Country, Timo’s experimentation and the slight opening up of his palette is clever, helping his works take on an ethereal quality. They are epic works that requires one to stand in front of each canvas for some time. Even so, you will go away only just beginning to understand the unknown and unseen forces at play, which Timo knows intimately well and has attempted to reveal.
Tarnanthi continues until 21 January 2024 so there is plenty of time to visit Tarntanya to see the group and solo exhibitions at AGSA, but also some of the independent shows across the city.
Erin Vink, Tarntanya/Adelaide
