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Ramingining artists from
Arnhem Land Indigenous art frequently reflects the spiritual traditions, cultural practices and socio-political circumstances of Indigenous people, and these have varied across the country. The works of art accordingly differ greatly from place to place. Major reference works on Australian Indigenous art often discuss works by geographical region. The usual groupings are of art from the
Central Australian desert; the
Kimberley in Western Australia; the northern regions of the
Northern Territory, particularly
Arnhem Land, often referred to as the
Top End; and
northern Queensland, including the
Torres Strait Islands. Urban art is also generally treated as a distinct style of Indigenous art, though it is not clearly geographically defined.
Desert art Indigenous artists from remote central Australia, particularly the
central and western desert area, frequently paint particular '
dreamings', or stories, for which they have personal responsibility or rights. Best known amongst these are the works of the
Papunya Tula painters and of Utopia artist
Emily Kngwarreye. The patterns portrayed by central Australian artists, such as those from Papunya, originated as translations of traditional motifs marked out in sand, boards or incised into rock. The symbols used in designs may represent place, movement, or people and animals, while dot fields may indicate a range of phenomena such as sparks, clouds or rain. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the work of Emily Kngwarreye, from the
Utopia community north east of
Alice Springs, became very popular. Her styles, which changed every year, have been seen as a mixture of traditional Aboriginal and contemporary Australian. Her rise in popularity has prefigured that of many Indigenous artists from central, northern and western Australia, such as her niece
Kathleen Petyarre,
Angelina Pwerle,
Minnie Pwerle,
Dorothy Napangardi, Lena Pwerle, and dozens of others, all of whose works have become highly sought after. There are some figurative approaches in the art of those of central Australia, such as among some of the painters from
Balgo, Western Australia. Some central Australian artists whose people were displaced from their lands in the mid-twentieth century by nuclear weapon tests have painted works that use traditional painting techniques but also portray the effects of the blasts on their country.
APY lands Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, in remote north-western
South Australia, is renowned for its artists, who are always well-represented in any exhibitions and awards for Indigenous Australian artists. In 2017, APY artists earned 25 nominations in the prestigious
Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards; two were named as finalists in the
Archibald Prize; 14 APY artists' work made the shortlist for the 2019
Wynne Prize for landscape painting; and in 2019, APY artists also won or were shortlisted for the
Ramsay Art Prize, the
Sir John Sulman Prize, the
John Fries Award, and others.
Nici Cumpston, artistic director of
Tarnanthi Festival at
Art Gallery of South Australia, regularly visits the APY art centres. The APY Art Centre Collective is a group of ten Indigenous-owned and -governed enterprises which supports artists from across the Lands and helps to market their work. The iconography however is quite separate and distinct from that of central Australia. In north Queensland and the
Torres Strait many communities continue to practice cultural artistic traditions along with voicing strong political and social messages in their work.
Urban art In Indigenous communities across northern Australia most artists have no formal training, their work being based instead on traditional knowledge and skills. In southeast Australia other Indigenous artists, often living in the cities, have trained in art schools and universities. These artists are frequently referred to as "urban" Indigenous artists, although the term is sometimes controversial, and does not accurately describe the origins of some of these individuals, such as
Bronwyn Bancroft who grew up in the town of
Tenterfield, New South Wales,
Michael Riley who came from rural New South Wales near
Dubbo and
Moree, or
Lin Onus who spent time on his father's traditional country on the
Murray River near
Victoria's
Barmah forest. Some, like Onus, were self-taught while others, such as artist
Danie Mellor or artist and curator
Brenda Croft, completed university studies in fine arts.
Contemporary Torres Strait Islander art In the 1990s a group of younger Torres Strait Island artists, including the award-winning Dennis Nona (b. 1973), started translating traditional skills into the more portable forms of
printmaking,
linocut, and
etching, as well as larger scale
bronze sculptures. Other outstanding artists include Billy Missi (1970–2012), known for his decorated black and white linocuts of the local vegetation and eco-systems, and
Alick Tipoti (b.1975). These and other Torres Strait artists have greatly expanded the forms of Indigenous art within Australia, bringing superb Melanesian carving skills as well as new stories and subject matter. The College of Technical and Further Education on
Thursday Island was a starting point for young Islanders to pursue studies in art. Many went on to further art studies, especially in printmaking, initially in
Cairns, Queensland and later at the
Australian National University in what is now the School of Art and Design. Other artists such as Laurie Nona, Brian Robinson, David Bosun, Glen Mackie, Jomen Nona, Daniel O'Shane, and Tommy Pau are known for their printmaking work. An exhibition of
Alick Tipoti's work, titled
Zugubal, was mounted at the
Cairns Regional Gallery in July 2015. ==Media==