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Vincent Namatjira

VINCENT NAMATJIRA

Desert Songs Ames Yavuz 5–28 October 2023 Sydney
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Press Release

A subversive portraitist, Namatjira uses wit and heart to interrogate the complex colonial narratives implicit in Australia’s relationship with the Empire from a contemporary Aboriginal perspective. Born in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and now based in Indulkana on Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, South Australia, Namatjira is an acute observer of national and international politics.

“I started painting portraits because I’m interested in people and power, wealth and politics. For me, portraiture is a way of putting myself in someone else’s shoes as well as to share with the viewer what it might be like to be in my shoes. I use portraiture to look at my identity and my family history,” said artist Vincent Namatjira.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to utilise cheeky humour side-by-side with gut wrenchingly hard stories. Desert Songs is inspired by these stories.” said Vincent Namatjira.

“I don’t want to dismiss this element of what I refer to as ‘Guerrilla’ humour, which is a tactic used in Blackfella art to make Whitefella’s laugh at themselves. Let’s be honest, as Aboriginal men we have much more luck in interrogating White nuances through a joke than by pointing the finger. This is one of Vincent’s greatest attributes.” (p.171, Tony Albert on Vincent, from Vincent Namatjira by Vincent Namatjira, published by Thames & Hudson Australia)

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About the Artist

Vincent Namatjira OAM is a leading Western Aranda artist and widely recognised as one of Australia’s most important contemporary painters. In 2020, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his contribution to Indigenous visual arts. That same year, he became the first Indigenous Australian artist to win the prestigious Archibald Prize for his portrait ‘Stand Strong for Who You Are’. In 2019, he won the Ramsay Art Prize, Australia’s most generous prize for artists under forty.

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Also Exhibiting at Ames Yavuz

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Channatip Chanvipava
CHANNATIP CHANVIPAVA Found Memories Ames Yavuz 16 July–12 September 2026 London
Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION Infinite Gesture Ames Yavuz 4 July–8 August 2026 Sydney
Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION their flesh, a field Ames Yavuz 4 July–29 August 2026 Singapore
About the Gallery

Ames Yavuz embraces its diverse cultural background through a strong international focus and perspective. The gallery’s vision is underpinned by robust curatorial practices that form the core of our program and foster intercultural discourse on a global scale.

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Address
114 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills
Sydney
Australia
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 6pm

Sundays, Mondays and Public Holidays
By appointment only
(1)
Sydney 114 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills
Ames Yavuz contemporary art gallery in Sydney Australia
Ames Yavuz
114 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia
+61 2 8040 8838
http://yavuzgallery.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 6pm

Sundays, Mondays and Public Holidays
By appointment only
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