Desert Mob 2011

The annual display of the Desart art centres, Desert Mob continues to retain its importance on the annual indigenous art calendar. Whilst the NATSIAAs may have lost some of their lustre this year, with a notable lack in regular attendees and many artists not entering the award, Desert Mob continues along in its inimitable way. This year the showcase was under the directorship of new curator Stephen Williamson, with other new staff also providing a fresh feel and creating a thoughtful hang at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. The most notable paintings in the exhibition were again by the vibrant painters of the APY Lands: Tjala Arts from Amata, Warakurna Artists, Ernabella Artists, Tjungu Palya and Ninuku Arts, as well as two jewels from the resurging Martu people of Newman, Western Australia, depictions of salt lake country by two artists who work side-by-side and who inspired one another to create these works, Jakayu Biljaku and Yikartu Bumba.
What has always intrigued me about Desert Mob is that it has an unusual selection process. The art centres choose the work they want to display and it gets hung, no questions asked. I quite like this egalitarian process, so different to the constant selection and refining process of the Telstras, but sometimes I really wonder what some of the art centre managers had in mind when selecting their works. I know that artists from Warlukurlangu, home to the genius of the late Paddy Japaljarri Sims and to Paddy Japaljarri Stewart and Shorty Jangala Robertson, Tjarlirli, Mimili Maku (after all, we saw their stunning display only for the first time here last year), Kaltjiti, Papulankutja and Papunya Tjupi can paint, because I’ve seen brilliant paintings by artists from all these art centres in exhibition. I know these art centres all have dedicated, personable, hard-working and highly professional managers. But their Desert Mob 2011 entries were disappointing. I am a strong supporter of these art centres in particular, and would like to see better work from them represented at this exhibition, considering that it is now probably the most important showcase on the annual Indigenous arts calendar. From Mimili Maku, which last year was, along with Ernabella Arts, probably the stand-out entry, only one masterpiece by the brilliant painter Milatjari Pumani stood out.

A noticeable change this year is that of the collecting audience, who is becoming increasingly savvy. Katjarra Butler and Esther Giles, important artists from Tjarlirli, had mediocre work entered, which hasn’t sold. Of the Kaltjiti works, only the always brilliant Tali Tali Pompey stood out. And it was the only work that sold. And nothing sold from Papulankutja. I don’t think that the market is a clear indicator of artistic credibility, I know only too well of works that I love and very few people understand, or would buy, often one may be ahead of their time in that respect. But in this year’s Desert Mob, I was impressed with the buying skills of the public. They honed in on the special works. So what was special?

In the painting medium, the works that struck me were by Bindi Inc. Mwerre Anthurre Artists’ Billy Benn Perrurle, Lance James and Kukula McDonald, Warakurna Artists’ Rachel Jennings, Carol Golding, Tjaparti Bates, Tommy Mitchell, Myra Cook and Tjunka Lewis were all stunning.

From Ernabella, Charlene Thomson’s whimsical portrait of a white cockatoo against a beautiful, ‘APY style’ background was complemented with intriguing works by the senior artist Tjunkaya Tapaya and by Tjariya Stanley.  However I found the other works from this more recently impressive art centre, including the canvas by this year’s NATSIAA winner Dickie Minyintiri, to be lacking. Ninuku’s Harry Tjutjuna, Molly Nampitjin Miller, Samuel Miller, Sandy Brumby, and Nyanu Watson, a charming work reminiscent of Melbourne printmaker Rona Green‘s animals with attitude, were all strong, and from Tjungu Palya, a beautiful large Nellie Stewart was highly impressive.

From Balgo (Warlayirti Artists), Nora Wompi and Sarah Daniels had decent entries, and how wonderful it was to see again the bright, bold, colourful and traditional women’s paintings from Lajamanu (Warnayaka Art Centre) by Lily Nungurrayi Hargraves and Rosie Napurrurla Tasman: joyful bursts of energy and the strong spirituality of women’s ceremony hanging on the back wall.
Betty Muffler’s installation of a tjanpi basket and painting from Iwantja was a delight, as was a large collaborative work by Alec Baker, Peter Mungkuri and Whiskey Tjukangu. As always, Tiger Palpatja, Sylvia Ken and Tjunkara Ken from Tjala stood out as masterworks, and the painting Ngayuku Mamaku Ngura by healer Wawiriya Burton was absolutely sublime. The collaboration between the young genius Alison Riley and Katanari Tjilya was a glorious, joyful, lyrical work. What impressed me most about the Tjala display was the thought that had gone into it, the art centre manager had obviously curated it as a mini-exhibition, the paintings were mostly of high quality and also worked together nicely. I am not entirely sure if they were all from this year, as is the criteria for Desert Mob, but they were beautiful to look at nonetheless.

Desert Mob has always been strong in three-dimensional work. Araluen were an early supporter of this field, in many ways as important as painting, comprising as it does traditional media such as artifacts, wood carving and weaving, and often it tends to give a very direct representation of indigenous culture. Ceramics, for example, have long been included and collected by Araluen and more recently so have the quirky 3D works from around the town camps of Alice Springs.

This year, the three-dimensional work was as good as, if not better than, many of the paintings. From the ceramics of Ernabella and Hermannsburg (naïve and charming depictions of country singer visitors to Hermannsburg, including John Williamson, Archie Roach and Buddy Williams), to the woven animals from Tennant Creek, incredible birds made by Rhonda Sharpe, Dulcie Sharpe and Blanche Ebatarinja from recycled woollen blankets and feathers from the ‘life changing’ grass-roots art enterprise Yarrenyty Arltere at Larapinta Valley Town Camp.

The wonderful use of an old car part painted to become a whimsical and intriguing artwork by Margaret Boko from Tangentyere Artists and the metal sculptures of the Greenbush Art Group were highly appealing.
The Tjanpi Weavers were, as always, unusual, fun and impressive, and continue to head in new directions with weavings such as the unique and culturally significant community wall pieces by Wipara Jinny and Iwayi Wikiliri.
The home of punu (the important practice of wood carving), Maruku Arts, displayed some classic boomerangs, but I was disappointed to see their walka boards (painted and poker worked wooden boards), such a lovely surprise to me in previous years, and such an important historical bridge between the long-time Pitjantjatjara practice of carving and into the new realm of painting on canvas, have now lost their appeal as a result of a new, unattractive palette.

Wonderfully personable raffia-woven camels and bush hen families, from Julalikari Arts in Tennant Creek, completed the delightful display of three-dimensional art.
The once most prestigious of the desert art centres, Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, changed tack this year, perhaps a result of last year’s problem of returned purchase labels. The buying system at Desert Mob has always been problematic, and the current system, wherein buyers pull tags off paintings they wish to buy, which can then be stuck back on, although preferable to the previous ‘buy before you see’ queuing system, still presents issues. Perhaps Araluen should attempt to impose some sort of time limit on the labels, so that others may purchase works if the original tag holder puts the tag back. This year, Papunya Tula had small works by major and mid-level artists, which provided less of a feast for the eye as the usual more important larger works, but resulted in three-quarters of the works selling, although for far less than bigger works.

One work I was particularly pleased to see was a Gloria Petyarre work entered by the Ngurratjuta Iltja Ntjara (Many Hands) Art Centre, an Alice Springs art centre. Utopia is a large place, and the Artists of Ampilawatja, who are shown in Desert Mob, come from different country and have little to do with artists such as the famous Pwerle sisters or Petyarre sisters, who paint independently and manage their own careers, like non-Indigenous artists do.  Whilst it was by no means her best work, to see Petyarre’s Bush Medicine hanging in Desert Mob was a proud moment.
Overall, Desert Mob 2011 is well worth a visit to anyone interested in desert art, to see the beauty and perfection as much as the chaos and mistakes, which in itself encompasses what I love about Australia’s vibrant Indigenous art from this vast area we know as ‘the desert’.