Topsy Peterson Napangardi

Showing until August 21, 2021, Mitchell Fine Art presents an exhibition portraying the Australian desert landscape, by artist Topsy Peterson Napangardi, who was born in the remote desert of Central Australia 1954.

The sister of artist Lily Kelly Napangardi, who was previously exhibited at the gallery in June, Topsy grew up learning the dreaming stories of her ancestors and it is these stories she portrays in her paintings.

Passed to her by her father, the structure and composition of Topsy's paintings is quite different from that of her sister. The artist’s paintings are constructed using small dots in a series of colours, with each colour carefully selected and applied to ensure balance and continuity, reflecting the sandhills or ‘Tali’ of her birth country.

'I paint my father's country west of Yuendumu. He was a Yuendumu man, a Warlpiri man. Sandhills and scrub country, same as Lily, same Dreaming. The Dreaming stays the same [but its] the colours, I always like to use new colours, colours of the land, and the sky, storm clouds and sunrise and sunsets’ says Topsy.

Within Aboriginal society the connection to country is a strong bond, ensuring the ongoing health and continuation of culture and tradition. Art has become a considerable platform to continue this relationship. It is a visual dialogue that continues to be utilised as artists interpret country and visually narrate their explanations of land and its importance to them.

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Need to know - Onsite parking is available.

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