Painter Vincent Namatjira opens new solo exhibition 'King Dingo'

WORDS Ariela Bard PHOTOGRAPHY Rohan Thompson and artwork image courtesy Ames Yavuz Gallery PUBLISHED Tue, 3 Sep 2024 - 4:10 pm

King Dingo, the sprightly titular character featured across eight paintings in the new exhibition by Vincent Namatjira, is more than a wild dog bedecked in royal regalia, raising hell in the Australian desert.

While Namatjira has dressed King Dingo up as King Charles III, the Western Aranda artist told assembled media at Ames Yavuz Gallery in Surry Hills that, “King Dingo, he represents me.”

With his signature irreverent humour, Namatjira thrusts the symbol of wild Australiana in unlikely situations — in one painting he looks dejected on horseback in the Australian desert. In another, King Dingo, wearing a jewelled crown, sits on a throne in front of majestic blue ranges, grinning, tongue out, a skull in his hand. In the background of the large scale paintings is the landscape that is written in Namatjira’s body — it’s the landscape of his Great Grandfather, Albert Namatjira. The painter, who was not aware of the familial connection to the internationally renowned watercolour painter until he was an adult, has an ongoing engagement with his Great Grandfather’s works and, for this exhibition, painted en plein air on Country.

Namatjira said, “These new paintings are about a reversal of colonial power and ownership. King Dingo represents Aboriginal strength, pride and resilience, and respect for Country, culture, and Indigenous leadership past and present. Long live the king!”

The exhibition also features a video work adapted from his recent façade commission, Indigenous All Stars, which was projected onto the National Gallery of Australia and unites historical and contemporary leaders such as Eddie Koiki Mabo, Vincent Lingiari, Albert Namatjira, Adam Goodes, Cathy Freeman, Nicky Winmar, and the Tjilpi (senior men and elders) from his community in an AFL match. Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara guitarist Jeremy Whiskey, also from Indulkana, composed an original score for the work.

Namatjira also invited senior artists Alec Baker and Eric Barney from his art centre in Indulkana, South Australia, to contribute a series of paintings as part of the exhibition. Namatjira has acted as mentor to the two painters, and together the work is an example of traditional and contemporary Indigenous art in harmony.

Namatjira, who lives in the desert community of Indulkana, in South Australia, recently made international headlines when mining magnate Gina Rinehart demanded that his portrait of her be removed from The National Portrait Gallery.

The artist has risen to prominence for his brightly-coloured naive portraits on large-scale canvases, winning the 2019 Ramsay Art Prize and the Medal of the Order of Australia for his contributions to visual arts. In 2020, he won the Archibald Prize, becoming the first Indigenous artist to achieve this honour, for his portrait of former AFL footballer Adam Goodes, titled Stand Strong for Who You Are.