“We wasn’t allowed to go to school, we wasn’t allowed to get paid money. We worked for flour, sugar, tea. Rations! We went on strike and we become equal. We become recognised as human beings.” – Nyaparu (William) Gardiner

Apart from all this social and historical context, it is clear from this exhibition of Gardiner’s work that his aesthetic is a triumph. His skewwhiff landscapes – detailed here, gestural there – are dreamily conceived and executed, and his figures of odd anatomic proportions often blend into or become the landscape.

For Gardiner, who created almost all of his life’s work at Spinifex Hill Studios between 2014 and 2018, this aesthetic was developed, refined and eventually flourished as appreciation and recognition for his art grew. These years were a time when his body, eyesight and memory were not serving him as faithfully as they had, but from his mind and brush he teased out a powerful, original vision that captured the phenomenal changes he experienced and witnessed in his lifetime.

His contributions to Tarnanthi 2019 are a showcase from these remarkable years and a legacy that will hopefully incite his deserved acclaim.

- Greg Taylor

AGSA
Friday 1 June, 2020
Exhibition
18 October 2019 – 27 January 2020
Art Fair
18–20 October 2019

In May 2017, Nyaparu (William) Gardiner travelled to Naarm (Melbourne), Australia, for the first time with his daughter, Sheila Gardiner, to attend his exhibit 'Outside Men' at Vivien Anderson Gallery. This film is dedicated to the men and women who fought for equality in the 1946 Pilbara strike. Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Lydia Rui Producer, Sound Recordist: Greg Taylor Colourist: Kali Bateman "Kimberley Backroads" written by Peter Brandy, courtesy of Skinnyfish Music, performed by Nyaparu (William) Gardiner. Special thanks to the Gardiner Family and Glendyn Ivin. Sponsored by FORM, Spinifex Hill Studios, and the Australian Government. "When someone is dead or gone, you can't always call his name. I got all these old people up there in my mind. Our culture and language is strong up there too. The old people, the law and culture they put us through, my paintings are about remembering them now they passed away." - Nyaparu (William) Gardiner (1943 - 2018)

General enquiries:
(08) 9172 1699
mail@spinifexhillstudio.com.au