Aboriginal Artists: First, at Last

Sydney Modern Project's Yiribana Gallery is part of a recent boom in demand for the Australian art

- Mark C O'Flaherty

WHEN A FLASH flood sent a 1.5m wave sweeping through Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal Art last autumn, curator Adam Knight helicoptered in to rescue what he could. The subterranean gallery—part of a luxury resort in the middle of a Victoria winery that’s a 90-minute drive north of Melbourne— is no glorified gift shop, but rather the largest commercial space in Australia devoted to work by First Nations artists. “I had to go myself—I knew what the masterpieces were,” he says. “There were moments when I thought I was going to drown while trying to save some of the key pieces.”

Knight’s rescue mission salvaged over 100 works, but more than 300 were destroyed. His determination reflects Aboriginal art’s new-found status both in Australia and in the larger art world. Ignored as little more than the stuff of souvenirs for decades, it is now being taken seriously by collectors and curators alike. Politically, First Nations issues are on par with the Black Lives Matter movement, and culturally, contemporary Indigenous artists’ works typically reference the desert where their communities have lived for thousands of years, as well as such rituals and traditions as the coming-ofage walkabout. The paintings’ pulsating lines, concentric circles and arrays of dots often resemble Western-style minimalism or abstract expressionism.

“Painting is always a process, and in our culture, age brings transition and new knowledge, but for me it is always connected to land. It is sacred,” says artist Daniel Walbidi. “As I get older, the elders pass new teachings; these are the things that influence my work the most, my understanding of my culture.”