Artist Spotlight: Annette Nungala and Triscilla Peterson
Annette Nungala and her daughter Triscilla Peterson are familiar faces at the Epenarra Art Centre in Wutunuguarra. Annette and Triscilla are both dedicated artists. In the past year they have become prolific members of the Artists of the Barkly collective and continue to push their respective practices towards excellence, sharing techniques, stories and elements of visual language.
Bush Medicine by Annette Nungala Peterson
Annette started painting as a young girl and has returned to art in recent years. As Annette’s practice has developed her focus has evolved from careful depictions of bush tucker and medicine to vivid landscapes which incorporate her earlier studies within dramatic depictions of Iytwelepenty (the Davenport Ranges). Annette has caught the attention of a number of collectors and gallerists with her singular approach to landscape which is distinguishable for its patchwork pattern whereby layers of dots are applied in grided blocks of colour. Annette’s works pay homage to life in the desert. Works like Busy Day, Davenport Ranges and Mustering at Kurundi Station depict the comings and goings of planes carrying medical staff and mail, the day to day of station life and the dramatic effect of changing seasons. Taking a consistently experimental approach, Annette draws inspiration from both her elderly mother, Gladys Beasley and her eldest daughter Triscilla.
Busy Day, Davenport Ranges by Annette Nungala Peterson
Triscilla Peterson was encouraged to paint by her mother who has been of significant influence to her. Triscilla began painting consistently in 2018, since then her practice has progressed rapidly. In the last year Triscilla has begun taking on experimental works on larger canvases, often departing from the familiar fine dot work of the Epenarra style, Triscilla is developing a visual language which takes an experimental approach to texture through different methods of paint application. She often uses an intriguing combination of realism and traditional pattern-based dot-making, resulting in an element of abstraction in her landscapes.
Mustering Cattle Near Runners Hole by Triscilla Peterson
Triscilla’s paintings are filled with whimsical and imagined details, depicting the natural environment around her home and the activities of daily life there. Her works are distinguishable for their interest in dreamlike depictions of the landscape, which draw on existing features of the environment but portray them within an imagined space. Like the works of Annette, paintings such as Mustering Cattle Near Runners Hole pay homage to life in the desert, while other such as Flower Farm depict imagined places. These works loosely drawn on the landscape of Iytwelepenty (the Davenport Ranges). Rhythmic motifs and rolling hills evoke the scattered flora and dramatic geological features of the Ranges but place them against flat blocks of colour, giving the painting a surreal quality.
Flower Farm by Triscilla Peterson
Like many of the Epenarra artists Annette and Triscilla continue to push landscape painting into new and exciting spaces, combining traditional motif and cultural knowledge with a commitment to experimentation.
