Using a hand coil pinch technique, the pots created by the Hermannsburg Potters of Western Arrarnta in Central Australia illustrate the lived histories of the artists and their surrounding Country. Crafted from terracotta clay and ceramic underglazes, each generously rounded vessel is covered with paintings of life in the desert and topped with figurative sculptures of people, animals and bush tucker adorning the lids.
Featuring work by seven artists including senior Hermannsburg ceramicists Judith Inkamala and Anita Ratara, and emerging artists, Andrea Rontji and Alizha Panangka Coulthard, curator Emma Bett says this new collection of pots follows on from a previous exhibition themed around bush foods, to bring the vibrancy of the desert into the gallery space. Wildlife, native flora and community life are all depicted in their signature vivid colours, deepened by terracotta’s earthy grit. “What stands out to me about their work is the way each pot expresses the individual hand of the maker,” Bett explains. “The work is filled with such imagination, humour and insights into contemporary life.”
Partly inspired by the watercolour landscape paintings of Albert Namatjira, the creative traditions of Hermannsburg are maintained by four founding members who continue to mentor new and emerging artists. With their focus on visual story telling and skill sharing reiterated in a recent artist statement, “We know how to teach our young ones because our old people taught us,” many of the potters are mothers and daughters. The culturally significant outcome of passing down skills and knowledge from generation to generation, each pot encapsulates the experience of the artist and their strong matriarchal lineage, tenderly highlighting the rich diversity of life and community found on Country.
Pmara nurnaka nurna lhamala relhe ingkwia nurnaka nurna mapa-lela. (Country visiting with all of our old people.)
Bett Gallery
14 March—5 April
This article was originally published in the March/April 2025 print edition of Art Guide Australia.
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