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Pantjiti Mary McLean A Big Story Paintings and Drawings 1992 - 2005 National Aboriginal Cultural Institute - Tandanya, 7 May - 24 July 2005  'Pantjiti
Mary McLean A Big Story' traces the artistic success of senior artist
Pantjiti Mary McLean in this retrospective exhibition of national
proportions. Pantjiti, born in c1930 at Kaltukutjarra of the Western
Desert region in Central Australia conveys the stories of her life
in a rich and vibrant array of artworks. Produced between the years
1992 and 2005, Pantjiti's dedication to hard work is extremely clear,
as the abundance of quality art on display (and found within the accompanying
catalogue) attests to. The success of the retrospective however, is evident in the scope of the work, in which many varied mediums, sizes and illustrations are employed so brilliantly by Pantjiti. Namely, there are paintings on canvas, paper, board and boab nut, as well as watercolours, drawings in pen and pencil, textiles and a couple of the artist's own drawing books. A pair of emu feather slippers is also exquisite. There is a plethora of highlight pieces in the show, though each individual artwork really does deserve its own moment of focus (I would not recommend rushing through or taking small children along). One comes away from Tandanya - the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, feeling totally engaged by this viewing experience. Pantjiti's painting technique is a unique one in which she often invests in classic 'dot' formations, typical of Western Desert style, to create colour, texture and a backing landscape. Additionally, Pantjiti incorporates figures into her work, a motif much less typical of abstract Indigenous art, but for Pantjiti a claim to originality. Pantjiti's figures, sometimes gendered, sometimes not, appear in the majority of her paintings and drawings in an attempt to capture the reality of human existence on traditional lands. Scholar John Kean describes the figures as starting from an upside down U-shape, filled in, then limbs and faces added for animation. The figures interact with one another in many ways, for instance the congregation around a waterhole or in ceremony or celebration. Living in the Land, 2000, acrylic on canvas, is a beautiful example of this where Pantjiti illustrates the multifaceted nature of life; she includes within the large pictorial space a birthing story, the surrounding fauna, elements of the spirit world, as well as hunting components. Within the one canvas, Pantjiti captures the essence of life on the land, as the painting's title so aptly suggests. It is so very striking to witness this figurative element, as in many works by desert-based Indigenous artists, this element is simply not reproduced. The prevalence too of the figures, reflects a human population of the desert areas Pantjiti has painted, something that has diminished over time with the effects of colonisation. Everybody is Coming in for Water, 1995, acrylic, natural pigment and plant dyes on canvas, is the central piece of the exhibition and draws further on the concept of life before colonialism and speaks loudly of community. Converging from all corners of the canvas, Pantjiti's black figures meet along a central water body axis that extends the length of the enormous canvas.  Pantjiti's
Mustering series, produced in 1998, is a series of drawings in pencil
on paper that pay tribute to her own life experience of sheep mustering
at Mt Weld sheep station. The importance of this series is that, in
taking up the suggestion from curator Nalda Searles, an historical
record of the event has been put in place. Each image, of which there
are six on display, captures the movement and activity of the mustering
process. Pantjiti incorporates such detail as the wire fencing, bird
and plant life, waterholes and the typically Western Desert human
and animal track motifs; the pencil medium reflecting an immediacy
of image. While each drawing is a stand alone piece, when viewed in
context of the retrospective the transition from pencil drawing to
painting on canvas becomes an obvious, natural progression.Critics have compared the narrative style of Pantjiti's work, which in many cases is complemented in this exhibition by insightful wall text, with other Indigenous artists - Robert Campbell Jr, Ian W Abdulla and H J Wedge, each of whom have used art to convey personal life histories and events. So too has Pantjiti's use and love of colour been likened to that of the great artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Pantjiti's incorporation of narrative and execution of technique are tied to the memories of her childhood and of growing up in the desert prior to white settlement. This is where she draws inspiration for her visual practice. The result is a candid and naive style, paramount to her artistic success; she is not to be overlooked.  |
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