Awely-Awely, Kwaty, Ilpay Ilkwa, (Lightning, Water, Big River)

Awely-Awely, Kwaty, Ilpay Ilkwa, (Lightning,Water, Big River), showcases the work of two remarkable artists, Topsy Kemarre Beasley, and her younger sister Rita Kemarr Beasley. Not surprisingly, the sisters have a great deal in common in terms of their life experiences, cultural practices, and knowledge of and profound connections with Country. And yet, the facture and work of Topsy and Rita could not be more different for each sister brings an unmistakably individual approach to the art of painting Country.

Whereas Rita works quickly to apply and overlay thick, viscous patches of paint with gestural brushstrokes that reveal the rapidity and physicality of her process, Topsy gradually builds her paintings by slowly applying layer upon layer of thinly diluted paint so that the finished work reverberates with the echoes of its making. And, whereas Rita’s manipulation of the paint, her energetic pushing, dragging and shoving of the acrylic across the picture plane ensures that form emerges from that which sits absolutely on the surface of the canvas, Topsy works her layers of paint into the weave of the canvas so that form emerges as much from that which resides within, as upon the canvas. These very different approaches partly account for the distinctive painterliness of each sister’s body of work. Rita paints freely without any use of a prescribed method. Her liberal application of luscious swathes of colour animates a spatial dimension that is both expansive and intimate. Sometimes a horizon line may appear, other times not. The landscape might be viewed from high above and simultaneously from below: are we looking up to a night sky that is bursting with stars, or are we looking down on a landscape that is bursting with wildflowers? These dramatic shifts in perspective challenge what we think we are seeing and they disorient our sense of space so that space (and time) is simultaneously compressed and stretched. Waterholes, creeks and rock formations are frequently depicted, and even houses and cars from her community of Wutunugurra (Epenarra) sometimes make an appearance. While some of these features may not be immediately discernible, there can be no mistaking the legibility of the trees that are a regular feature of Rita’s work. Across the road from Rita’s home in Wutunugurra (or, Wetelempngarre) is a relatively mature boab tree, the one and only boab in the community. With its lustrous, pearlescent, swollen trunk, that tree has been in Rita’s sight line since its seed was planted some 50 years ago.

Whereas Rita paints over the entire canvas to offer expansive, panoramic views of the landscape – she rarely focuses on a single feature or explicit detail- Topsy will very often frame a particular view for the observer. Whether it be frog holes, swamps, waterholes, rockholes or the Frew River that flows through Iytwelepwenty (Davenport Ranges) and around Wutunugurra where Topsy once lived, that framing gives emphasis to those features and amplifies their significance. Topsy’s latest body of work reads very much as a bush library. Her canvases are rich with foods for here there is evidence of plenitude, abundance and fulfillment. Kanga berries in various stages of ripening, bush seeds, witchetty grubs and the frogs buried in their holes speak to a cornucopia of nourishment and showcase the fecundity of the local flora and fauna. And, alongside these foods are depictions of preparation as women crush and grind seeds to make damper bread.

Topsy and Rita are two extraordinary women. Aged around 97, Topsy continues to paint on a daily basis at the Barkly Regional Arts Centre in Tennant Creek. 207 kilometers away in Wutunugurra, and at the age of around 74, Rita takes a short daily walk from her home to the Art Centre where she continues to revel in the art of painting. Their determination to paint their land is not only indicative of their dedication and commitment to their land, but equally reveals that painting is an integral part of their being. As Wayne Eager so eloquently said of Rita, “it is as if the landscape appears to breathe through her”. The same is true of her older sister Topsy.