Barkly Artists

Barkly Artists represent painters from four communities- Canteen Creek, Epenarra Artists at Wutunugurra, Tartukula Artists at Tennant Creek and Kulumindini Arts at Elliott. Barkly Regional Arts services upto 20% of the total area of the Northern Territory, being about 283,648 square km.

The artists in Epenarra, a small community of about 150 people, show a strong interest in landscape painting, with each artist seeking out their own visual language. The colours used by the artists are in response to weather-related changes in the landscape – the dramatic shifts in the colour of the landscape is amazing in this country.

Tennant Creek artists tend to use a naive style of visual language, an approach inspired by the late Peggy Jones and senior artist Susannah Nakamarra Nelson. Religion is a prominent influence, with figurative works painted in a naive style influenced by religious texts and art. Artists use the repetitive patterns familiar in the Epenarra artworks, reflecting the rhythmic nature of the landscape.

Canteen Creek artists locate about 50 kms from Epenarra, but the differences culturally and in approach to art are significant. The artists paint detailed images of bush medicine and bush tucker. The artists are motivated to show what their communities can do and take a great sense of pride in their work.

The exhibition at Japingka is a show of colour, Arts Manager and curator Katie Lynch says that there is no one style that encapsulates the Artists of the Barkly. There is always a sense of spinifex, bush medicine and landscape. The exhibition is presented in association with Barkly Regional Arts and is on display at Japingka Gallery until 29 March 2022.