The new Pippin Drysdale-Yinjaa-Barni art exhibition Journey at Linton and Kay, Subiaco, is a revelation in imagination, interpretation, colour and form.
The juxtaposition of dazzling Yinjaa-Barni painted works and vibrant, exquisitely crafted Drysdale ceramics lends the show a rare and striking harmony.
Alongside clusters of rainbow-hued ceramics are the captivating works of Maudie Jerrold, Allery Sandy, Marlene Harold and Melissa Sandy.
Canvas and ceramic perfectly compliment one another, powerfully conveying the distinctive nuances, light, landscape and timeless spirituality of Australia’s desert lands and the landscapes of our state’s glorious north.
Here is a symbiosis of objectives achieved at the highest form of the artists’ ability in their mediums; the effect is breathtaking.
An example of such fusion might be the placement of Allery Sandy’s Pilbara Creeks with Drysdale’s Sunrise Over the Olgas collection. The coupling works perfectly.
From the kaleidoscopic hues of the ancient Pilbara geology to the deep blue offshore seas, from gentle Dreaming recollections to the Pleiades star cluster, this exhibition is a profound expression of time and place.
“Drysdale works intuitively, driven by her passion to create, drawing on assimilated experiences of place, topography, of remote communities, of changing light, flora or fauna, that give rise to her abstract interpretations,” states the show description.
“Her ceramics are world-renowned as reflections of the famous Kimberley and Pilbara regions, many echoing the vastness of place while others explore the smallness of things.”
Like the Yinjaa-Barni artists themselves, Drysdale has a deep connection to country, having ventured north many times to better understand and absorb its unique regions.
“Australia is considered ‘young’ in many ways but the truth is that its culture is amongst the oldest in the world,” she says.
“I endeavour to reflect this through my three-dimensional porcelain creations, each one inspired by our bare and bleak continent and the first nations that have called it home for so long.”
“Light can make the most imposing edifices appear soft, ghostly, fragmented. Light governs my reactions to the everyday making memories re-surface, metaphorically taking me from a sunrise in the desert to early spring in the Pilbara or the majesty of our galaxy in the night sky.”
Yinjaa-Barni Art is a not-for-profit Aboriginal Corporation, working as a collective of Aboriginal artists who predominantly belong to the Yindjibarndi language group. The Yinjaa-Barni artists are known for their deeply personal works of collective memory, rendering the wildflowers, river systems and landforms of their country onto canvas.
“Yinjaa-Barni means working together, doing things together. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, at least your heart is in painting, and working together,” says artist Allery Sandy.
The Yinjaa-Barni artists and Pippin Drysdale ‘working together’ on this wonderful Linton & Kaye exhibition has produced a triumph. A must see.
On opening night Allery Sandy gave a heartfelt talk about the artists and their motivations, before the show was officially opened by Sam Walsh AO.
Journey runs until Sunday, 6 November at Linton & Kay, 299 Railway Road, Subiaco.
Drysdale’s works, as always, are simply stunning. As are the artworks. A perfect match exhibited here.