Aboriginal Contemporary is proud and privileged to bring you these 14 stunning new artworks from two artists and close friends destined to shape the future of Western Desert art.
MARLPA
It is not unusual for desert artists to paint together, whether as a formal collaboration or for the simple joy of creating beautiful art in the company of others. It is a tradition that Martumili’s two breakthrough artists, Corban and Judith, embrace with a passion.
In Corban’s words, “When I paint with Anya, we always laugh, we tell jokes, we talk about our paintings. I learn about her Country from her paintings and she learns about my Country, Kaalpa, from my paintings”. Anya echoes the sentiment: “I always want to paint more when I’m painting with Corban. I learn more and I get to talk about Rabbit Proof Fence and Puntawarri”.
Small wonder these two exceptional young artists were so enthusiastic to call their much anticipated exhibition ‘Marlpa’, the Martu word for companionship or company.
As is evident in this exhibition Martu artists are masters of colour, gesture and subtlety, and their work is much sought-after by private and institutional collectors around the world. Their bold, evocative paintings echo the sand hills, spinifex, water holes and shimmering salt lakes of their Country. Their artworks are often painted in layers, some invisible on the final canvas but creating an unseen third dimension, essential to both the artist and the artwork’s meaning to Martu people.
