Emily, from Batik to Acrylic

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

It is no exaggeration to say that Emily Kame Kngwarreye contributed powerfully to the creation of a new branch of contemporary art.

In 1977, at Alkalherre in the deserts of northern Australia, a mission of Aboriginal literacy support takes on a local workshop of batik, ie of dyeing textiles. Emily is very active in this project, which will reveal the freshness and vitality of the patterns of local traditional batik.

The next step came a few years later, when advised sponsors introduced in the workshops of these artists the acrylic paint on canvas, and organized exhibitions in the world.

Orders poured, and 1995 was a great year for the art of Emily, then largely into her eighties. A set of four works of large size (3 x 6 m each) entitled Earth Creation overcame the one million Australian dollars at Lawson-Menzies in Sydney on 23 May 2007.

The paint on linen, 110 x 201 cm, offered by Deutscher and Hackett in Melbourne on March 25 is also dated 1995. In one of the various styles typical to the artist, we see a minute tangle of strips of a remarkable harmony of colors. This work, estimated 150 KA$, had been chosen to illustrate the cover of an exhibition catalog in 1998, two years after the death of Emily.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The estimates were conservative, perhaps following the series of controversies that have affected the world of the Australian auction last year.

We therefore welcome the outcome: 250 KA$ including premium.