Grahame King’s Obir, 1981,and Tribal Figure, 1982,
lithographs, 121 x 51cm,
Annual Rental $150,
Jonathon Campbell’s Dissolving Sixteen, 2003,
Oil on Canvas, 37 x 87cm,
Annual Rental $500
Lilly Chorny’s Meander Scar,1998,
Oil on Canvas, 153.5 x 125 cm,
Annual Rental $200
Nyayati Stanley Young, Waru Tjukurpa: Fire Dreaming, 2008,
Synthetic polymer on canvas, 201.5 x 187.5 cm,
Annual Rental $1500.
Mick Wikilyiri,
Ngayuku ngura - my country, 2008,
Synthetic polymer on linen, 103 x 152.5 cm,
Annual Rental $800
Artbank ebulletin - February 2009
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CLIENT PROFILE
Accountant James Gorey doesn’t initially appear to be a stereotypical art lover. However, his selection of a number of vivid works during a recent visit to our Perth showroom, conveyed a sustained passion for the concept of art rental.
Within the week we were back at his North Perth offices,de-installing the Catherine Brown plastic straw works. James said that while he had really enjoyed the works, he took an Artbank view of the world, which meant that each year it was time for a complete change. The Brown works had also provoked spontaneous accolades by visiting clients, he said, which was one reason he hung art on his walls. Clients coming along to discuss their latest audit or tax return, not anticipating seeing interesting art on the wall, were unexpectedly stimulated by a visit to their accountant’s office.
The new works also provide a striking visual impact – local artist Jonathon Campbell’s Dissolving Sixteen simultaneously draws attention from and towards the photocopier it floats above. Other works on the opposite front wall, echoing the spark of Campbell’s colour are Tania Ferrier’s Domestic Bliss and Mexican Yellow – coincidentally another West Australian artist. As previously, James had quickly decided on the works for their humour and liveliness, not for their state of origin!
The other pair of works, Graham King’s Obir and Tribal Figure in the reception area, provide a more restrained and elegant approach to the room, nonetheless working well with the brighter hues of the other works.
For his own office, James has selected a gorgeous Lilly Chorny work Meander Scar, with warm browns, reds and yellow that gives him plenty of material for contemplative thought. This is another contrasting work to last year’s selection but James appreciates the diversity offered by the Artbank works.
James says he loves to visit the Artbank Showroom and is the ‘master of quick choice’ after six years of selecting works. For him, the beauty lies with the ease with which original Australian artwork can be accessed, and at such a competitive rate. And running his own accountancy and auditing firm, you know he’s done the sums on value for money!
Mariyon Slany
WA Representative, Artbank
RECENT ACQUISITIONS:
With a track record of acquiring important works by Indigenous artists dating back to Artbank’s very first purchases in 1980, we’re always on the lookout for continuing developments in Indigenous creative practices. What an explosion of activity there has been lately in the relatively new and remote art centres of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara/ Yankunyjatjara Lands (APY Lands) around the tri-state (SA, NT, WA) border region.
Recently we’ve been collecting great works by some of the best emerging artists from centres such as Ninuku, Tjala Arts, Tjungu Palya and others. The latest include those by Pitjantjatjara artists Nyayati Stanley Young, who works with Ninuku Arts (from Ninu meaning bilby) at the tiny Kalka Community; Mick Wikilyiri, who works with Tjala Arts from Amata (Tjala translates as Honey Ant, a traditional bush food), and a work by Beverly Cameron from Tjungu Palya Artists (representing the Nyapari, Kanpi and Watarru communities).
Each uses a vibrant colour palette and an innovative approach, yet retains a strong narrative impetus. Here Mick Wikilyiri shows us a Wanampi water snake story; and Nyayati Stanley Young a men’s business Fire Dreaming.
These stories reflect not only the extraordinary creativity of Indigenous artists, but also the fortitude of the people of the APY Lands, many of whom lived a traditional nomadic life until the forced assimilation movements of the 1930s and the atomic testing at Maralinga that nearly destroyed their lands. Recent movements back to their own country have not only returned many Pitjantjatjara people to their spiritual homes but, luckily for all of us, are now resulting in a revival of stories whose visual representations are making enormous contributions to Australia’s contemporary art and cultural life.
Jackie Dunn
Senior Curator
