Mangkaja • Mowanjum • Waringarri • Warmun
“Connection to (ownership of) country is common ground for Aboriginal people across Australia. Kimberley Aboriginal Artists was established in the context of this solidarity with the aim of sharing the richness and diversity of their art, language and identity. Sharing difference on common ground is a show of strength and collaboration and, in the context of country, community and particular art practice, is an expression of multifaceted diversity,” said Sharon Tassicker, Director, Holmes à Court Gallery
“The objective of this exhibition is to share with a wider audience not only the art itself but the stories around the art, the artists’ connection to, and love of country, the pride they have in their work and their culture, and their hopes and fears for the future. The artists and elders in this exhibition want non-Aboriginal Australia to listen, to hear what they are saying: that they are the original owners of the land and have been for tens of thousands of years; that they have deep connections and knowledge they are willing to share, and that this be given the respect and credibility it is due,” she said.
Presented in the exhibition and catalogue are the words, the creativity and the luminous diversity of many of the Kimberley’s finest artists. Encoded within each painting are insights into that which makes the Kimberley unique – the astonishing interaction of people, country and culture over millennia. Simultaneously, each painting also carries with it the offer of seeing anew what is different and what is shared and that this balance creates both great art and vibrant possibilities for this common ground.
Artists from each of the four centres at Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, Warmun and Kununurra are travelling down for the opening and they will be quite a presence in Perth with Kimberley artist exhibitions also at Seva Frangos Art, Gadfly Gallery and Randell Lane Fine Art.
Sharing difference on common ground will be opened by Hon Tom Stephens Member for Pilbara with a Welcome to Country given by Richard Walley AOM
VIP & Media Preview 5 – 6pm, Thursday 22 October
