Congratulations to Vicki Yatjiki Cullinan, who has won the $100,000 Hadley’s Art Prize for her work Ngayuku Ngura (My Country).
The senior Yankunytjatjara artist from Indulkana Community in South Australia has a 20-year practice spanning painting, printmaking and drawing. The winning piece, made from acrylic on linen, is a hauntingly beautiful depiction of Country.
“My painting is connected to the Tjukurpa (Ancestral Stories) that I know, but also my paintings are an extension of who I am, and how I interpret my place in the world.”
“I paint my Country, the beautiful and powerful Yankunytjatjara Country that I live on and that will always be a part of me,” says Cullinan. “My painting is connected to the Tjukurpa (Ancestral Stories) that I know, but also my paintings are an extension of who I am, and how I interpret my place in the world.”
Cullinan was chosen from 30 finalists, with the judging panel saying, “Cullinan’s work knocked us out at first glance and just kept giving. The longer you look at it, the better it gets. The work does not reveal all its secrets at once. Like the Country, it is vibrant and alive. We were all drawn to Cullinan’s work and found it utterly fascinating. This year’s Hadley’s Art Prize is incredibly high-quality and diverse, with entrants from every state and territory. It was a privilege to spend time with each of the artworks and encourage everyone to visit the Finalists’ Exhibition.”
The finalists exhibition is now open at Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart, and runs until 20 August.
Suggested Reading
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65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art is an extraordinary account of the unique art of this continent, published alongside a landmark exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art. Necessary and urgent, it tells the story of Indigenous Australian art; a new art history unlike anything we’ve seen. For Jane O’Sullivan, it’s a remarkable and must-read book.
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Oslo Davis reimagines art terms
In a new series of illustrated postcards available as a free gift with purchase only at the Art Guide Bookstore, Oslo Davis takes on classic and contemporary art terms and genres and reimagines what they could be referring to.
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The major exhibitions open in each capital city this summer
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Art Guide Australia
The miniature worlds of Kyoko Imazu
In a new exhibition at Australian Galleries, Kyoko Imazu’s intricate papercuts show worlds in miniature—Some of works are only 15 centimetres tall, yet their detail is meticulous.
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The ceramics of the Central Desert
Developed in 2022 by Artback NT as part of Apmere Mparntwe—the Australian Ceramics Triennale— touring exhibition Clay on Country, showing now at New England Regional Art Museum, showcases the diversity of ceramics in the Central Desert.
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Ellen Dahl creates a dialogue between places
In her latest exhibition at THIS IS NO FANTASY, Ellen Dahl presents works from an ongoing photographic series that has captured many sites—from the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard to Tasmania—creating a dialogue between works that center place.