3 Out of Alice

3 Out of Alice

3 Out of Alice Marina Strocchi Adrian Jangala Robertson Trudy Inkamala

September 20 - 31 October Sun Valley USA

Marina Strocchi Adrian Jangala Robertson Trudy Inkamala

Adrian, Trudy and me.

Parachuting into a welcoming work space set the mood for some productive workshops at Bindi Mwerre Anthurre

develop the palettes that he needed, refresh his paint pots and make sure that he had good brushes to choose from

Artists, where Adrian Robertson works and Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, where Trudy Inkamala works. In an open and

and that all his materials were within reach. The cup of tea was essential too.

friendly environment, the stranger was relaxed. That was my experience in 2020 and I believe that the positive work environment in these two First Nations, Alice Springs based organisations is the foundation for the success of the artists.

Working with someone of Adrian’s calibre, I saw my role as a technical assistant, especially useful to support him to work

I am grateful to both these organizations for endorsing this series of workshops.

independently. I mixed a range of colours that were either familiar to him or found in the landscape that he was painting.

The range of colours was broad, up to around thirty colours, and there were multiple choices of most colours.

These workshops were made possible by the Arts NT Fellowship that I was awarded in 2019. I went to the USA to learn how art therapy is used in communities that have experienced trauma. It was surprising to find no information on First

To work alongside First Nations artists is a privilege and a chance to see uninhibited painting unfold. A budding artist might

Nations art centres in the USA. Art centres in Australia have succeeded when other businesses have failed. That is if

ask for an opinion or some feedback and through experience I have learnt that the less said, the better and feedback is best

you judge success by exhibiting in a top commercial gallery in New York, as some Central Australian artists have, or by

kept to affirmations. I see the role of a so-called arts worker is to build confidence and the scaffolding for someone to believe

featuring on Beyoncé’s Instagram account. It seems that something is really working for the artists who participate in

in themselves to find their own way in paint.

this uniquely Australian First Nations art movement.

Trudy Inkamala came to painting through her work as a soft sculptor working with heavy embroidery on repurposed woollen

As an art centre co-ordinator, many years ago, I argued that funding the proposed art projects was a case for cultural

blankets. This is the main medium at Yarreynty Arltere. To prepare for the sculptures the artists make pencil sketches which

maintenance and employment. There are many other benefits from making art though; first and foremost is having fun.

form the basis of the pattern for the sculpture. This led to a series of etchings and lots of screen printing on fabric. Trudy’s drawings had something in them that made her co-worker Sophie Wallace think she might like to paint. She did some small,

Painting or stitching gives time and space for people to enjoy themselves and heal. Life on a First Nations community in

quite delicate works at some point and then when her hands became a little tired from stitching it was time to have another

Australia has many challenges. Tragedies occur often, leaving people sometimes overwhelmed by trauma. There is also

look at painting. I suggested inks to start with as they move more fluidly than acrylic and we sourced some hand-made Indian

inter-generational and epigenetic trauma that is born from the pervasive effects of colonisation. The often-repetitive

recycled rag paper. Trudy was seventy-nine when she started and she had her first solo exhibition of paintings aged eighty.

actions involved with painting or stitching give the mind and soul a moment of reprieve and a chance to step back from the chaos of life. It is a form of meditation. Here in Australia, in communities that are far from the big cities, people have

Trudy started with a series of Old Laddie and her bags full of bush tucker. They were memory paintings of her grandmother

reinvented their relationship to art. Through referencing ancient mythologies and their inherent connection to the land

and are full of details of life from the 1950s. Floral cotton frocks and hand-made string bags, lizards and coolamons and lots

they have created a contemporary art movement with a strong foundation. They do it all day, every day.

of wild hair. One day she painted an owl which was also part of her repertoire through her tjukurrpa. It was a pivotal moment, the painting seemed to flow from another part of her. She had gained experience and confidence working through the previous

Adrian Robertson is a master landscape painter and to watch him feel his way through working on any one of his

series to arrive at a place where the execution of the owl painting, on that day, was a breakthrough. This led to her current

landscapes was watching someone in total control of his subject matter and his materials. He works by using a sculptural

series of owls and birds. Again, my role is ensuring that Trudy has all that she needs on hand. A wide range of colours, fresh

technique of building out the painting in a mushroom manner, creating structure and depth as he goes. He dips into the

brush water, rags for spillage and more cups of tea. Trudy works on about five paintings at a time and goes in stages. The ink

colours he needs, whether it’s for the rocky mountains, the trees in the foreground or the vast desert skies. Sometimes

is tricky and needs to dry after each session. In the desert it dries quickly so she goes back to the work adding a layer of detail,

he double dips creating an unpredictable merger of colours in the one paint stroke. He works as if he is merely a

lets it rest and moves to the next one. At eighty Trudy isn’t as agile as she once was so I do the footwork for her. Trudy’s owls

conduit for something that is coded within him. Vast mountain ranges with minute details are all rendered loosely and

are “owl people” she anthropomorphizes them and each one has a different character. Her method seems random, they all have

spontaneously. His works have an impressionist feel but the brush marks are very definite.

such different, quirky characters. When seen en masse their expressions cover the range of human emotions.

The workshop with Adrian was to explore inks as a medium and work in his usual medium of acrylic, experimenting

It was an honour to work with Trudy and Adrian and their colleagues. I thank Julie Harvey for suggesting that we have this

with acrylic matt medium which helps with layering and creating depth from glazes. Adrian is very definite and

exhibition.

communicates his needs quite clearly through gesturing and expressive hand signing. I was able to work with him to Marina Strocchi August 19, 2021

Trudy Inkamala Every day Trudy is first to arrive at the Yarrenyty Arltere Art Room. She catches a bus in from her country Kwale Kwale, about 20mins west of Alice Springs and a bus home. She arrives ready for breakfast, tea, ngkurlpa (bush tobacco), conversation and making art. Drawing, sewing, sharing, remembering and caring for others is what Trudy does all day.

Trudy was born at Hamilton Downs Station Northwest of Alice Springs in 1940. Her father worked in the garden there, growing vegetables for the youth camp. Her mother did the cooking and washing. She remembers receiving rations and her father asking, “this is my country, why don’t I get a little bit of money?”. At Christmas the family would ride camels and donkeys back to Kwale Kwale. When Trudy went to school at Ntaria (Hermannsburg) she met her husband. She lived with her husband at Kwale Kwale and they had four children together.

Trudy’s country runs from Stanley Chasm all the way to old Glen Helen Station. As a child Trudy would go into this beautiful country with her family. Together they would pick bush tucker and her grandmother Old Laddie would teach her all the stories from that place. Old Laddie knew everything about the bush. What plants to eat, what plants for medicine, how to find witchety’s and honeyants, how to cook goanna and echidna. Trudy said Old Laddie showed her how to make a cooloman and a dilly bag from the bush to carry water and food. “She showed me everything”.

Trudy is an important and respected elder in her community. She is a role model and spokeswoman for her people.

Her mother, her two sisters and herself along with ‘some other strong people’, set up Yipirinya School to celebrate and nurture the Aboriginal kids of Alice Springs. Now her children and grandchildren work at Yipirinya school as teachers, linguists, advisors. Since her husband passed away in 2014 Trudy has traveled every day on the school bus to work side by side with her sister Dulcie Sharpe at the Yarrenyty Arltere Art Centre. Doing art is her new joy she says, a way forward for the kids.

Trudy Inkamala, Kurrkurrka 2021, works on paper, 75 x 56cm, Tangentyere Artists Catalog #117-21

Trudy Inkamala, Kurrkurrka 2021, works on paper, 75 x 56cm, Tangentyere Artists Catalog #116-21

Trudy Inkamala, Kurrkurrka 2021, works on paper, 75 x 56cm, Tangentyere Artists Catalog #121-21

Trudy Inkamala, Kurrkurrka 2021, works on paper, 75 x 56cm, Tangentyere Artists Catalog #118-21

Trudy Inkamala, Kurrkurrka 2021, works on paper, 100 x 68cm, Tangentyere Artists Catalog #120-21

Trudy Inkamala, Kurrkurrka 2021, works on paper, 100 x 68cm, Tangentyere Artists Catalog #119-21

Adrian Robertson Based in Alice Springs/Mparntwe, Adrian Robertson is a widely respected Warlpiri artist with a distinctive approach to landscape painting. Primarily using a restricted palette and capturing the sweep of his country through brushwork loaded with energy and drama, Robertson continues to push his art, eagerly experimenting with new mediums and techniques that lead to further opportunities to develop as an artist. Robertson’s passion and commitment to his art practice is vividly evident in his prolific body of work.

Robertson has painted with Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists since 2002, an Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE) created in 1978. It is an entity within Lifestyle Solutions, an Australian national organization supporting people in disability and accommodation services. Mwerre Anthurre means “very good” or “proper way” in the central Australian Arrernte language. The studio provides a means for Indigenous artists living with a disability to pursue and nourish their artistic practices. The painting process is an expression of self and a connection to home country, upholding personal and cultural identity.

In 2000 the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artist Collective was established around the talents of the late Billy Benn Perrurle, providing opportunities for artists to develop their skills and tell their stories in a way that is culturally significant, with each painting a connection to country. Perrurle and Robertson shared accommodation and attended Bindi together for many years. Throughout this time the two became good friends and inspired each other in their professional lives as artists.

Robertson has enjoyed other strong artistic influences throughout his life. His fathers’ brother was the late Darby Jampijinpa Ross, a successful artist, activist and enthusiastic storyteller in Warlpiri and English who inspired others to follow in his footsteps. Robertsons’ mother was Eunice Napangardi, a well-known painter herself. Adrian’s paintings consistently refer to the desert mountains, ridges and trees which are part of his mothers’ country, Yalpirakinu.

Adrian Robertson, Yalpirakinu 2020, acrylic on linen, 91 x 91cm, Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Catalog #219-20

Adrian Robertson, Yalpirakinu 2020, acrylic on linen, 122 x 46.5cm, Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Catalog #108-21

Adrian Robertson, Yalpirakinu 2021, acrylic on linen, 91 x 91cm, Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Catalog #138-21

Adrian Robertson, Yalpirakinu 2021, acrylic on linen, 61 x 61cm, Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Catalog #48-21

Adrian Robertson, Yalpirakinu 2021, acrylic on linen, 91 x 61cm, Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Catalog #137-21

Adrian Robertson, Cowboys at Yalpirakinu 2018, acrylic on linen, 46 x 20cm, Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Catalog #286-18

Marina Strocchi Hovering somewhere between abstraction and landscape, Marina Strocchi’s paintings are rich evocations of her experiences of living in the Central Australian desert. Melbourne- born Strocchi has lived in Central Australia for the past 19 years, working for a substantial period with the Aboriginal artists of the region.

Her work is an affirmation of the environment of Central Australia, which she expresses with a flattened perspective of complex patterns. The work reflects the synthesis of nature’s repetition with the clutter of human habitation that one finds in the expanses of the desert. Strocchi employs bold design and rich colouration in her appealing and highly personal style.

Strocchi has exhibited in Paris, Melbourne, Alice Springs, Darwin, Sydney and Brisbane. Her extensive involvement in the cultural life of Alice Springs and Central Australia has included work as a lecturer and curator, as a field officer at Papunya Tula Artists. She is held in many private and public collections worldwide

Right: Marina Strocchi, Port Lincoln Parrots - Morning 2018, acrylic on linen, 200 x 150cm

Marina Strocchi, Manhattan Early Evening, acrylic on linen, 35.5 x 25.5cm

Marina Strocchi, Manhattan Early Evening II, acrylic on linen, 35.5 x 25.5cm

Marina Strocchi, Manhattan Sunset, acrylic on linen, 25.5 x 35.5cm

Marina Strocchi, View from Central Park West, acrylic on linen, 30.5 x 51cm

Marina Strocchi, Columbus Circle, acrylic on linen, 30.5 x 51cm

Marina Strocchi, Columbus Circle, acrylic on linen, 30.5 x 51cm

Marina Strocchi, West Side Taxi, acrylic on linen, 51 x 36.5cm

Marina Strocchi, Blue Barn, acrylic on linen, 35.5 x 35.5 cm

Marina Strocchi, Pink Barn, acrylic on linen, 30.5 x 35.5cm

Marina Strocchi, Dog, acrylic on linen paper, 35.5 x 35.5cm

3 Out of Alice Sun Valley USA 2021