Cover image of the review
Johnathon World Peace Bush, Murrintawi (white people), 2021, locally sourced natural earth pigments on linen 150cm x 200cm. Photo: Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association

Melbourne Art Fair


19 Feb 2022
Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka, Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association, Milingimbi Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre 17 Feb - 20 Feb 2022

Honestly, the 2022 Melbourne Art Fair is good. It’s even great in parts. The greatest part by far is blandly named the “Indigenous Art Centre Program”, run by the non-profit Agency Projects, which is seemingly funded by various government initiatives and other “innovative philanthropists”. If I squint past the grant-speak, it’s revealed that they have fully footed the bill for five remote Indigenous-governed Art Centres to attend the Fair and produce fancy videos about their represented artists. Excellent! Now we’re talking! We love to see our tax dollars flowing to the best sites of contemporary art making in the country. The five centres—Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association, Milingimbi Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, and Warlayirti Artists—aren’t pulling any punches either. They’ve brought the A-team.

I’ve never seen Ben Galmirrl Ward’s work in the flesh before. It’s essential to closely observe the organic triangle that he uses to depict the crannies of a water-systems, valleys and ranges of the Miriwoong people’s land (at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley). The triangles are so soft, so non-geometric, that they almost appear quilted across the country. This innovation would be enough, but Ward also has a breathtaking technique for depicting clouds. Like nothing I’ve seen before, they’re serpents, they’re birds’ wings and beaks, they’re pointy and weightless. Cast against grim, grey skies, the overall effect is tender and melancholy.

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