John Prince Siddon, a Walmajarri man of the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia, came to painting later in life but has more than made up for time with a prolific output of his distinctive paintings. With a style that he describes as “‘all mixed up”, Siddon uses canvas, oil drums, satellite dishes, kangaroo pelts, 3D printed bullock skulls, carved boab nuts, feathers and wood to create works that are both highly contemporary, yet often traditional in style.
Mangarri for the table, meaning ‘food for the table’ in Walmajarri, is a series of works that depict the recent class action against the Western Australian government for stolen wages that affected Siddon’s family and community. The exhibition is a collaboration between Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, Mangkaja Art Centre and Arthouse Gallery, as part of NAIDOC week.
View, in pictures, the poetry of John Prince Siddon’s visual language.
Numbat Night, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 150 cm.
Gold Rush, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm (Commissioned by Cement Fondu).
Mangarri for the table, acrylic on board and bullock skull, 110 x 200 cm.
Installation view of Mangarri for the table by John Prince Siddon at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
Feeding Time (detail), acrylic on kangaroo pelt, 175 x 82 cm.
Weather (detail), acrylic on kangaroo pelt, 166 x 102 cm.
(L to R) Feeding Time, acrylic on kangaroo pelt, 175 x 82 cm; Weather, acrylic on kangaroo pelt, 166 x 102 cm; Dingo, acrylic on kangaroo pelt, 184 x 93 cm; Mix It With Pride – Dreamtime Disco Drum VIII, acrylic on 44 gallon drum, 87.5 x 58 x 58 cm.
This Is How They Hunt Us, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 120 cm; Pulkartu (spider) (JPRI0015) , acrylic on 3D print, 50 x 50 x 18 cm; Numbat Night, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 150 cm.
Mangarri for the table
John Prince Siddon
Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
On now—until 14 July
Suggested Reading
Elizabeth Willing provides food for thought
Elizabeth Willing intersects her artistic practice with a love of food in Kitchen Studio, an ambitious project showing at Metro Arts as part of Brisbane Festival.
Louise Martin-Chew
Elyas Alavi on queer reclamation
In his latest exhibition at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Art, Elyas Alavi reimagines the alam, an object used in Shi’a ceremonies, as a portal for queer Muslim experience.
Josephine Mead
Vera Möller on the mysteries of the deep
The marine life of the Great Southern Reef is the landscape behind Vera Möller’s latest abstract paintings, now showing at Philip Bacon Galleries.
Briony Downes
The liquid dreams of Iris van Herpen
With the likes of Björk and Beyonce wearing her creations, within Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen’s surreal garments—which are showing at QAGOMA—couture becomes a canvas for the phenomena of nature.
Isabella Trimboli
Studying the artist: Three approaches to capturing a creative practice in print
Artist books are sometimes treated like exhibition postcards and not much more than mementos, but they grapple with intriguing questions about what to document, and how. Jane O’Sullivan reviews three artist monographs from Elizabeth Newman, Kate Tucker and Louise Haselton, and finds some very different strategies.
Jane O'Sullivan
Tim Johnson explores spiritual symbolism
Tim Johnson’s latest exhibition at Tolarno Galleries is borne from a collaboration with a psychology professor and their mutual exploration of spiritual texts.