The winners of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards were announced on Friday at the Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory. We speak to curator, Rebekah Raymond, as well as some of the finalists and category winners.

Keith Wikmunea, a Thu’ Apalech man and artist from Aurukun in Queensland, is the winner of the prestigious 2023 Telstra Art Award valued at $100,000 for his sculptural piece titled Ku’, Theewith & Kalampang: The White Cockatoo, Galah and the wandering Dog 2023. Keith was born in 1967 and lives in Aurukun in far North Queensland, facing west in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Keith is from the language group Wik-Alkan (mother’s side) and Wik-Mungkan (father’s side). His totems are the white cockatoo and goanna from his father’s side and the galah and frilled-neck lizard from his mother’s side. Keith’s Country is Kencherang (father’s side), which is north of Aurukun. 

Work on Paper Award went to Brenda L Croft for her work blood/memory: Brenda & Christopher II.

“Matrilineal/patrilineal blood/memories connect my son/nephew and I, through his mother and my father. Our First Nations heritage grounds us in continuous, ever-shifting colonised landscapes; literal, metaphorical and metaphysical. Ironically, it is our non-Indigenous ancestor who inextricably binds us to each other, my grandfather and his great-great-grandfather, Joseph Croft Snr (1869–1934). Through him we are the direct outcome of a century’s enforced displacement and removal from our communities and traditional lands, enacted under legislation and proclamation spanning two centuries. blood/memory is the intangible essence pulsing through our hearts and minds, across the generations.” 

Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award  was won by Anne Nginyangka Thompson for Anangu History 2023.

This artwork, consisting of two ceramic vessels, features highly detailed depictions of Anangu History told according to the artist. 

“Before, it was a beautiful landscape without problems like we have today. People were connected as families. Everything was silent, and all the animals were close by to the people. Everyone looked after the animals and the environment. People don’t have that life anymore. We’ve got houses now, a clinic, bitumen roads and everyone is driving cars. We were given flour, sugar and tea and now everyone is getting diabetes. In our life in the old days the food was healthy, it was natural. Now people are passing away from diabetes and sugar and smoking.” 

Jimmy John Thaiday won the Multimedia Award with his video Just Beneath the Surface 2023 

It depicts the artist’s connection to the ocean, the waves, the wind which explores the way the ocean creates cycles of life, death and rebirth. 

“The ocean is always changing, shifting, and moving. The tides, waves, wind and currents of the ocean bring us food and shape our culture.  The ocean is mysterious – many secrets lie just beneath the surface.  We must respect the ocean’s power; it can provide for us, but also take life away. I am exploring the way the ocean creates cycles of life, death, and rebirth. If we resist these forces, life can be tough, and we can suffer. When we let go, then we can let nature take its course, and things will be in balance.” 

Arts Wednesday 26 August 2023

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