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Vincent Namatjira

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Vincent Namatjira OAM (born 14 June 1983) is an Aboriginal Australian artist living in Indulkana, in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia. He has won many art awards, and after being nominated for the Archibald Prize several times, he became the first Aboriginal person to win it in 2020. He is the great-grandson of the Arrente watercolour artist Albert Namatjira.

Vincent Namatjira
OAM
Born (1983-06-14) 14 June 1983 (age 41)
Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Known forPainting, portraiture
Notable workClose Contact, Three Legends, Endless Circulation
Awards2020 winner Archibald Prize; 2019 winner Ramsay Art Prize; 2017, 2018, 2019 finalist for Archibald Prize
Websitewww.iwantjaarts.com.au/our-artists/vincent-namatjira

Early life

Namatjira was born on 14 June 1983[1] in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory,[2] and spent his early years in Hermannsburg.[3] He is the great-grandson of renowned watercolour artist Albert Namatjira, and identifies as a Western Aranda man. After his mother, Jillian, died in 1991, Vincent and his sister were removed by the state and sent to foster homes in Perth, Western Australia, thousands of kilometres away.[2]

Of this period, he has said that he felt lost and did not have good memories of childhood, especially as an adolescent. When he was 18, he travelled to Ntaria (Hermannsburg) to find his extended family.[4] Here he drew reconnected with lost culture, language and country,[3] and got involved with land management issues. During a trip through the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, he met his wife, Natasha, and settled with her family at Kanpi.[4]

In 2011, he was inspired to take up painting by Natasha and her father, Kunmanara (Jimmy) Pompey,[4][5][6] both artists based at Iwantja Arts, an Aboriginal-owned and -operated centre in Indulkana.[2]

He and his family visited Ntaria, where they studied his aunt, the late Elaine Namatjira (cited as Eileen), a leader of the Hermannsburg Potters, create artworks about their country. He learnt more of the impact of his great-grandfather, Albert Namatjira.[4]

Career

Namatjira began painting in 2012 initially working on traditional dot paintings and taught by his wife Natasha. In 2013, he started painting portraits,[7] starting with his great-grandfather Albert Namatjira.[3] His work has been exhibited regularly since 2012.[5]

His 2014 series, Albert's Story, tells the story of great-grandfather's life[8] and reflects on his legacy. About the series, Namatjira said: "I hope my grandfather would be quite proud, maybe smiling down on me; because I won’t let him go. I just keep carrying him on, his name and our families' stories".[4] The series is held by QAGOMA, and is available to view online.[9]

His entry for the 2016 TarraWarra Biennial, Endless circulation, comprised a series of portraits of the seven prime ministers who had been in power in Australia during his lifetime until that point.[10]

Also in 2016, he painted a series of portraits of the seven wealthiest people in Australia,[11] entitled The Richest, which has been shown in many exhibitions. The portraits include Blair Parry-Okeden, Gina Rinehart, Harry Triguboff, Frank Lowy, Anthony Pratt, James Packer and John Gandel.[12]

Three Legends, Namatjira's entry for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) in 2017, was a series of three portraits: David Unaipon, the first published Indigenous Australian writer; Jimmy Little, the first Indigenous performer to have a top 10 single; and Lionel Rose, the first Indigenous boxer to win a world title.[13]

He has painted Donald Trump, whose birthday is on the same day as his own, several times.[5]

In 2018 he painted Legends, a series of portraits of Aboriginal men which included singer Archie Roach, artist Gordon Bennett, land rights campaigner Eddie Mabo, and Australian Football League player Nicky Winmar, who famously lifted his football jersey and pointed at his skin when he was being racially vilified.[14][12]

Australia in Black and White (2019) features a series of 16 portraits drawn with ink on paper. The faces include those of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, former prime minister Julia Gillard, footballer and anti-racism campaigner Adam Goodes, as well as, once again, Albert Namatjira and Eddie Mabo.[12]

In 2020 he again painted Goodes, this time with himself also in the portrait, entitled Stand strong for who you are. He said the inspiration had come from watching The Australian Dream, a documentary film about Goodes and the racism he endured on and off the field. This portrait won the Archibald Prize.[5]

In February 2021, a work originally commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's arrival in Australia (2020) but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia,[5] was eventually unveiled. His largest work ever, P.P.F. (Past-Present-Future) is painted on a large wall in synthetic polymer paint. It features his father-in-law, Kunmanara (Jimmy) Pompey, next to am Aboriginal stockman on a horse; Adam Goodes; Lionel Rose, the first Aboriginal boxer to win a world title; Eddie Mabo and his Albert Namatjira. It also features himself:[15]

This image is me pointing out to the Sydney Harbour, and I’m holding the Aboriginal flag. Here, the self-portrait brings the past and the present together, since I’m standing on the roof of my great-grandfather’s famous green truck. It’s past and present, and then pointing forward is like looking to the future; a strong, hopeful future for Indigenous Australians. The Aboriginal flag for me represents pride, resilience and recognition.

Style and themes

According to Bruce McLean, curator of Indigenous Australian art at QAGOMA, "Reconnecting with his history... had a massive impact on Vincent and [gave] his art a real impetus...".[8] He also described Namatjira as "one of the leading lights of the emerging generation of artists from remote central Australia".[4]

Namatjira's style is very bold,[8] and his paintings have been described as caricatures, bordering on "outsider art". They often depict famous and powerful people standing alongside the artist, as if in a publicity shoot, with frequent references to Captain James Cook, the British royal family and contemporary Indigenous life. He has said that he is interested in people and their stories, and likes to use humour in his paintings.[16] He has said that Cook, the 18th-century British explorer, is one of his favourite subjects, and it was one of his portraits of Cook that was purchased by the British Museum.[8]

Although his portraits resemble caricature, according to the art historian Wes Hill they also have "a level of sophistication that only a colourist, not a satirist, could possess".[17]

Exhibitions

Namatjira's first solo exhibition was held in 2016.[11]

His work has been exhibited at the British Museum (in Indigenous Australia: Enduring Civilisation, 2015); TarraWarra Museum of Art (TarraWarra Biennial, 2016); the Art Gallery of South Australia (Tarnanthi, 2017 & 2018); Art Basel Miami Beach (2018); Artspace Sydney, (Just Not Australian, 2018); Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane (Asia Pacific Triennial, 2018); Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2018); Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre (2018), Warrnambool Art Gallery (2018)[16] and Flinders University Museum of Art.[11]

Namatjira's work is held in the British Museum, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia and Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art.[16]

Awards and honours

References

  1. ^ "Vincent Namatjira". Artkelch. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c King, Natalie (24 November 2018). "Vincent Namatjira in Conversation". Ocula. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Thomson, Laura (3 February 2016). "Vincent Namatjira at This Is No Fantasy + Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne". Ocula Insight. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Mclean, Bruce (1 May 2015). "Albert and Vincent Namatjira". QAGOMA. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sprague, Quentin (1 February 2021). "The paintbrush is a weapon: Vincent Namatjira". The Monthly. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Kunmanara (Jimmy) Pompey". AGSA. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Archibald Prize 2017: Vincent Namatjira". Art Gallery of NSW. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Brewster, Kerry (13 July 2015). "Younger Namatjira breaks from family style with bold, fresh paintings". ABC News. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. ^ "'Albert's Story' [search collection]". QAGOMA Collection Online. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Prime Ministers Series: TarraWarra Biennial 2016". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d "Vincent Namatjira". AGSA - The Art Gallery of South Australia. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Vincent Namatjira's 'cheeky revenge': the Archibald prize winner's past work – in pictures". The Guardian. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Telstra Award: Finalist". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Exhibition - Vincent Namatjira, 'Legends' at THIS IS NO FANTASY, Melbourne, Australia". Ocula. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Vincent Namatjira, P.P.F. (Past-Present-Future), 2021". MCA Australia. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  16. ^ a b c "Vincent Namatjira". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  17. ^ Hill, Wes (1 March 2019). "Vincent Namatjira: Colourful optimism". Artlink. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Alice Art Prize 2018: Finalist". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Archibald Prize 2018: Vincent Namatjira". Art Gallery of NSW. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Prizes Archibald Prize 2019: Vincent Namatjira". Art Gallery of NSW. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  22. ^ Smith, Matthew (24 May 2019). "Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira wins $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  23. ^ Kontominas, Bellinda; Terzon, Emilia (7 June 2020). "Queen's Birthday honours recognises high-profile Australians including Tony Abbott, Bronwyn Bishop and Marcia Langton". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Winner: Archibald Prize 2020: Vincent Namatjira 'Stand strong for who you are'". Art Gallery of NSW. Art Gallery of NSW. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
Awards
Preceded by Archibald Prize
2020
for Adam Goodes 		Succeeded by

Further reading

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