Art Leven

Mitjili Gibson Napanangka. Gibson Napanangka – aunt of famous Warlpiri artist Dorothy Napangardi – began painting later in life, drawing on knowledge developed through her experiences on Country in the Western Desert. Her bold and colourful work celebrates place, family responsibility and cultural knowledge, using repetition, pattern and colour to represent specific sites and their ongoing significance.

The exhibition includes works mapping locations such as Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay), Winparrku and Mina Mina. These places are central to Gibson Napanangka’s life and cultural responsibilities. Across the paintings, shifts in colour and pattern suggest rain, movement and ceremonial presence, reinforcing the notion of Country as something dynamic and active rather than simply static or historical.

Running alongside this incredible showing is ‘Gatherings’, a group exhibition of sculptural works developed through collaborations between First Nations artists and Urban Art Projects (UAP) in the early 2000s. The exhibition captures a pivotal period when artists known for their traditional carving or fibre-based works – including Carol Campion, Craig Koomeeta, Gary Namponan, Gershom Garlngarr, Jubilee Wolmby, Lena Yarinkura, Phillip Sandy and Thomas Toikalkin – began using industrial processes.

Here, subjects familiar to northern Australian life and stories – camp dogs, birds and crocodiles – are cast in aluminium and bronze. For artists whose practices were based in organic materials, the shift to metal opened up new possibilities. Much like the introduction of acrylic painting in the Central Desert, these works show how artists innovated with new materials and techniques without losing their connection to Country.