Page 11 - Reside Magazine Briggs Freeman

Reside — Fall 2025

With this growing profile and market
interest comes a responsibility to represent
the uniqueness and complexities of the
culture with accuracy and care. “Indigenous
art is incredibly diverse,” says Russell-Cook,
“originating from distinct tribal communities
across Australia.” Among hundreds of
Indigenous nations, each with their own
language and traditions, what unites many
of the artists is a profound relationship with
their Country. This term (with a capital C) is
used to describe their deep connection to
the land, water, sky, plants, animals, stories,
songs and even spirits of their area.
And this relationship shines through in
the art. The D.C. show features well-known
names including Rover Thomas, Sally Gabori,
Albert Namatjira and Emily Kam Kngwarray,
the latter the subject of a current survey at
London’s Tate Modern. However, Russell-
Cook’s selection was led “not by an artist’s
international reputation but by the want to
tell a holistic story,” he says. “This is a unique
opportunity to present real masterpieces
without compromise.”
The scale of some pieces, from Kam
Kngwarray’s 8-meter-wide “Big Yam
Dreaming” (1995) to Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri
and Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’s 7-meter-tall
Photos: © The Estate of Ms N. Yunupiŋu, courtesy of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala; Christian Markel/NGV. © Emily Kam
Kngwarray/Copyright Agency; © The Estate of Alec Mingelmanganu, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency/Copyright Agency.
“Spirit Dreaming through Napperby Country”
(1980) is sure to dazzle. “Each of these works
show both unbelievable beauty and deep
cultural significance and I think audiences
will be blown away by the sheer size,” says
Russell-Cook. But what the exhibition is set
to showcase above all is variety—of medium,
style and meaning. “Indigenous art is not
a singular form,” he says. “It is as diverse
as Indigenous people are.”
Precious Adesina is an arts and culture
journalist, writing for The New York Times,
the BBC and The Guardian

Opposite: Gäna (Self) by Nyapanyapa
Yunupiŋu, made between 2009-2018
Above: Emily Kam Kngwarray’s monumental
monochrome piece Big Yam Dreaming
Right: Alec Mingelmanganu used earth
pigments for his 1980 work Wanjina

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