Generations II Exhibition Catalogue

SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER - TUESDAY 12TH NOVEMBER An exhibition celebrating the works of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi, Michelle Possum Nungurrayi, Lionel Possum Tjungurrayi and extended family.

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE ADAM KNIGHT I first met Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri in 1992, at that time was working with the Cherbourg Aboriginal community in QLD as their national sales agent. We were producing emu oil products and some of the community asked me to sell their painted emu eggs, boomerangs and didgeridoos. I was always interested in art, specifically the Heidelberg school and for some time been reading and collecting art related books and auction catalogues. Upon meeting Clifford Possum, it was evident to me that I had met a human of some greatness, not just artistically but in just about every measurable way.

I was still of the young age of 21, and did not immediately have the means to buy or commission works by Clifford. Yet he was gracious enough to spend hours upon hours and days on end telling me his stories and explaining the Dreamings associated with his Country. Once I was in a position to acquire his works, I did so and became one of the most consistent purchasers of his art from the mid nineties until his passing in 2002.

Over that period I was privileged to spend much time with Clifford and visited many of his sacred sites with him. His knowledge of Country, Law and Dreamtime was extraordinary as was his desire and ability to communicate this knowledge with myself and others.

Generations II is very important personally as I attribute most my initial knowledge and success I have achieved in the Aboriginal Arts industry to Clifford Possum.

Shortly after meeting Clifford, I also met his daughters Gabriella Possum, Michelle Possum and recently deceased son Lionel Possum. My association with the Possum family was well established and I continue to represent all siblings, several grandchildren and great grandchildren until this day.

After spending much time with Clifford, he gave me a skin name - Tjupurrula, in western terms meaning nephew. Many indigenous people still refer to me as Tjupurrula and it was a great honour to receive such a kind gesture from one of the most important men of his generation.

I will be forever grateful for the generosity of friendship and sharing experienced by myself from Clifford Possum and his family. Through this exhibition, I hope visitors will identify the ‘genius’ I first observed when viewing Clifford’s artworks and how Clifford’s trailblazing career provided the platform for his decedents to continue their outstanding artistic contribution to the world.

Clifford Possum Tjungurrayi and Adam Knight

EXHIBITION NOTE GENERATIONS II Generations II is the second exhibition of its type.

The first ‘Generations’ was conducted in my Melbourne Gallery in 2009. The 2009 exhibition was the first and only exhibition where all of Clifford’s artistic family members were represented together.

Generations II, some 10 years later includes further members of Clifford’s family who have more recently taken up the brush.

Four generations of one family are on display which I believe is the first in Australian Aboriginal Art history. Please enjoy this rare opportunity to view visually stunning and culturally important examples of the passing down of knowledge over multiple ‘Generations’.

3 DIRECTOR’S NOTE ........................................................................................................................................... 2 EXHIBITION NOTE ............................................................................................................................................ 2 CLIFFORD POSSUM TJAPALTJARRI ................................................................................................... 4 - 9 GABRIELLA POSSUM NUNGURRAYI .................................................................................................. 10 - 21 MICHELLE POSSUM NUNGURRAYI ...................................................................................................... 22 - 31 LIONEL POSSUM TJUNGURRAYI ........................................................................................................... 32 - 34 DANNY POSSUM ............................................................................................................................................... 35 KHATIJA POSSUM ............................................................................................................................................ 36 - 37 NYRULLA POSSUM .......................................................................................................................................... 38 - 39 AZEZA POSSUM ................................................................................................................................................ 40 - 41 CHELSEA POSSUM .......................................................................................................................................... 42 TALIA POSSUM ................................................................................................................................................... 43 KHEYARNI POSSUM ........................................................................................................................................ 43 COLLABORATIVE ARTWORKS .............................................................................................................. 44 - 45

GENERATIONS II

CONTENTS

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CLIFFORD POSSUM TJAPALTJARRI C.1932 - 2002 BIOGRAPHY Clifford Possum was one of Australia’s most well known and well respected Aboriginal artists. He was born around 1932 at Napperby Station, north-west of Alice Springs and worked as a stockman until his mid-twenties.

His artistic career began in the 1950’s carving wooden snakes and goannas however, it wasn’t until the 1970’s, when Geoffrey Bardon started the Papunya Tula Artists that Clifford, under the tutelage of his brother Tim Leura that Clifford began to paint. He then went on to become the Chairman of Papunya Tula Artists throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Clifford’s paintings were of a style and scale that had not been seen before and his work bridged the gap between Aboriginal art and contemporary Australian art, as well as revolutionising the way that Indigenous art and culture was perceived worldwide.

The inspiration and content for his paintings came from his “father” One Pound Jim Tjungarrayi and his travels as a stockman, which gave him an intimate knowledge of his traditional Aboriginal lands and beyond. He is best known for his Love Story paintings however also paints Worm Dreaming, Possum Dreaming, Bushfire Dreaming, Goanna Dreaming and Honey Ant Dreaming. What sets Clifford’s paintings apart, is his use of dots to create a three dimensional image and it is imperative that his paintings be seen not only for their colour, composition and balance but also for their mythological details.

Clifford Possum received the Order of Australia in 2002 and his work is held in major public and private collections throughout the world.

COLLECTIONS Artbank, Sydney Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia Broken Hill Art Gallery Donald Kahn collection, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide National Gallery of Australia, Canberra National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Pacific Asia Museum, Los Angeles Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane South Australian Museum, Adelaide The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A. Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne SELECTED EXHIBITIONS SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1987, Paintings of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Avant Galleries, Melbourne 1988, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Paintings 1973-1986, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London 1990, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London 2007, Aranda Aboriginal Art, Melbourne GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2019, Generations II, Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal Art, Nagambie, Victoria 2019 defining tradition | black + white, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2017, Gems of the Stockroom, Kate Owen Gallery, New South Wales 2009, Generations I, Aranda Aboriginal Art, Melbourne 1974, Anvil Art Gallery, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.

1980, The Past and Present of the Australian Aborigine, Pacific Asia Museum, Los Angeles 1980, Papunya Tula, Macquarie University Library, Sydney 1981-82, Aboriginal Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Australian Museum, Queensland Art Gallery 1982, Perspecta (with Tim Leura), Sydney 1983, XVII Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 1984, Painters of the Western Desert: Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Paddy Carroll Tjungurrayi and Uta Uta Tjangala, Adelaide Arts festival 1984, Aboriginal Art, an Exhibition Presented by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra 1985, Dot and Circle, a retrospective survey of the Aboriginal acrylic paintings of Central Australia, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne 1985, The Face of the Centre: Papunya Tula Paintings 1971-1984, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 1987, Circle Path Meander, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 1987, Aboriginal Art from the Central Desert and Northern Arnhem Land, Community Arts Centre, Brisbane

5 C.1932 - 2002 1988, Dreamings, the art of Aboriginal Australia, The Asia Society Galleries, New York 1988, The Fifth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin 1989, A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art Westpac Gallery, Melbourne; Design Warehouse Sydney [through Lauraine Diggins Fine Art] 1989, Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 1989, Papunya Tula: Contemporary Paintings from Australia’s Western Desert, John Weber Gallery, New York 1990, l’ete Australien a’ Montpellier, Musee Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France 1990, Songlines, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London 1990, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Harvard University of Minnesota, Lake Oswego Center for the Arts, United States of America 1991, Aboriginal Art and Spirituality, High Court, Canberra 1991, Alice to Penzance, The Mall Galleries, The Mall, London 1991, Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, USA 1991, Canvas and Bark, South Australian Museum, Adelaide 1992, Crossroads-Towards a New Reality, Aboriginal Art from Australia, National Museums of Modern Art, Kyoto and Tokyo 1993, Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia (1971-1993), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth WA 1993/4, ARATJARA, Art of the First Australians, Touring: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf; Hayward Gallery, London; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark 1994, Dreamings - Tjukurrpa: Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert; The Donald Kahn collection, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich 1994, Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria 1994, Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

GENERATIONS II

CLIFFORD POSSUM TJAPALTJARRI

6 NAPPERBY WATER DREAMING 1996 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 755 x 1465mm DRSN9B

EMU & WORM DREAMING 1995 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 790 x 1275mm AGA8090/SN-135 $23,000 AUD *black box frame

$22,000 AUD *black box frame The parallel lines in this painting represent an underground water table at Napperby Lake.

The water is mostly salty and undrinkable however in certain places it does change to fresh water, as illustrated by the change in the background colour.

The Worm Dreaming is a love story – the male worm is singing love songs to attract a female.

The singing attracts a crow that is able to find the worm by the patterns he has left as he travels under the ground. The meanders, which can only be seen after rain, represent the worm’s path and also represent the resonation of the song.

The design was drawn in the sand to represent this Dreaming, it is a site close to the artist’s birthplace at Napperby. Emus are wandering around the area, depicted with white foot prints.

7 GENERATIONS II LARUMBA (HONEY ANT) 1995 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1800 x 1270mm DRSN188 $48,900 AUD *black box frame Napperby Lake or Larumba, depicted through the use of parallel meandering lines is located near the border of the Tanami and Simpson Desert, it is a saltwater lake which flows along a series of clay pans, occasionally disappearing beneath the surface. This concept is expertly rendered by the layering of the ground in the painting.

The lake belongs to the Tjapaltjarri and Tjungurrayi sub-sections of the Anmatyerre society. The painting features the footprints of emus wandering around a landscape rich in bush foods such as berries and honey ants.

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MEN’S CEREMONY 1996 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 750 x 1560mm DRSN 327 $24,000 AUD *black box frame Sets of men’s footprints are depicted heading towards and leaving the ceremony location. They have spears beside them and the central roundel in this work illustrates the main Kangaroo soakage site at Mount Denison - also known as Atjumpil.

This soakage is located in the Anardeli river bed. The other indication of this area is the yellow star like shapes, which demonstrate the Spinifex grass, which is plentiful in the Mount Denison area.

9 GENERATIONS II WARLUGULONG 1988 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1360 x 2120 mm DMCP01 $77,000 AUD *black box frame Warlugulong is the site of the epic Fire Dreaming that connects the Anmatyerre, the artist’s people, with several other groups across the western deserts. The site lies about 300 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs, in the far west of Anmatyerre country. The narrative concerns the two sons of Lungkata the ancestral Blue Tongued Lizard who refused to share their catch of kangaroo with their father, as is customary. Angered by their greed, Lungkata creates a bushfire that spreads across the land after the fleeing sons. It eventually engulfs the two men and burns them to death. The Dreaming is a cautionary tale about Aboriginal customs. Fire is also used as a tool to manage the land across Aboriginal Australia: burning tracts at various times of year engenders new plant growth that in turn attracts large game to be hunted.

In this painting, Clifford Possum focuses on the aftermath of the boys’ demise. Their skeletons lie either side of a fire burst that was created by Lungkata by striking the earth with his flickering tongue. The meandering patchwork of coloured dots that form the ground of the canvas suggest an atmosphere of smoke and haze. The sons’ hunting weapons are depicted beside their skeletons: the spears, spear-throwers, stone-blade knives and tasseled fire-beaters. The symmetrical arrangement of these elements is characteristic of Anmatyerre paintings of ancestral subjects. The significance of the Fire Dreaming at Warlugulong to the artist is attested to by the frequency with which he returned this theme. The earliest known examples are two bushfire paintings on board, painted in 1972.

Clifford Possum’s first large scale work about Warlugulong was painted with the assistance of his brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri (c.1929-1984) in 1976 and it now hangs in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Johnson 2003:90-1). Another version was commissioned by the Federal Airports Corporation in 1991 and now hangs in the passenger terminal at Alice Springs airport. Another version of this story is Clifford Possum’s Warlugulong, 1977 which is the current world record aboriginal sale at $2,400,000 purchased by the National Gallery of Australia.

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GABRIELLA POSSUM NUNGURRAYI BORN 1967 Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi is the eldest daughter of renowned artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, who was awarded Order of Australia in 2002. In 1985 Gabriella won the prestigious Alice Springs Art Award while still a student at Yirara College.

She is recognised as a culturally significant artist and her work has been exhibited in the US and throughout Europe including the Modern Art-Ancient Icon exhibition (1992) and Down Under (1993).

Gabriella is best known for her Milky Way Dreamings however she also paints Water Dreaming, My Grandmother’s Country and Bush Tucker.

Her work is included in many major collections including the National Gallery of Australia and most recently she was commissioned by Melbourne Festival and her artwork was installed on a Melbourne Tram. In 2007, Aranda Aboriginal Art commissioned her to complete a twenty metre art installation depicting her custodial Grandmother’s Country for Jamie Durie’s display at the 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show - which was awarded gold. At the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show, a Gabriella Possum artwork was presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth, which now hangs along side her fathers work within the walls of Buckingham Palace. Gabriella also broke her world wide auction record in 2008 when Grandmother’s Country was sold by Artcurial 07 Jul 2008 at the Hôtel Dassault in Paris, France for ¤24,784 (Euros). Gabriella now lives in Melbourne with her family.

COLLECTIONS National Gallery of Australia Her Royal Highness Princess Adela Bint Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Canberra Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin, N.T Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA Holmes a’ Court Collection, Perth, WA Kelton Collection, Santa Monica, USA Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT Galeria R, Poznan, Poland Aranda Collection Knight Family Collection Corrigan Collection Michael Schumacher Collection Meka Collection Saudi Royal Family Winterthur Collection, Switzerland HRH Queen Elizabeth Richard Branson

EXHIBITIONS 1992 Washington DC, USA 1993 London, UK 1993 Berne, Switzerland 1997 ‘The Milky Way Dreaming’, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK 2000 United Nations Building, New York, USA 2006 Shanghai Art Fair, China 2006 ‘Dreaming Their Way’, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA 2007 Shanghai Art Fair, China 2007 London Art Fair, UK 2008 Art Aborigene Australien, Paris, France 2009 Generations I, Aranda Aboriginal Art 2009 Starry Starry Nights, Framed Gallery, Darwin 2009 Generations I, Aranda Art Gallery, Melbourne 2016 Kate Owen Gallery Sydney 2017 Japinka Gallery, Fremantle 2017 Sharing Country, Olsen Gruin New York 2019 Generations II, Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal Art, Nagambie, Victoria COMMISSIONS 2008 Mural of “My Grandmother’s Country” Commissioned by Fleming’s Nurseries and Jamie Durie for the Royal Chelsea Flower Show 2008, London 2014 Melbourne Festival – Art Tram 2016 Vivid Projection Program at Sydney Opera House

11 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2015 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 2200 mm round GP 13736 $19,500 AUD These paintings depict Gabriella’s Grandmother’s Country near Napperby, Northern Territory, Australia. This work is an abstract landscape depicting the natural resources available in the region. Women are shown gathering food, depicted by the “U” shapes throughout the work. Spinifex grass is scattered through the landscape. Concentric circles identify campsites, bush fires and sources of water. This painting provides an excellent overview of an important place to the artist and her ancestry that is abundant with vegetation, bush food and water.

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND SEVEN SISTERS DREAMING 2015 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 3520 x 2070mm GP 13510 $29,000 AUD

GENERATIONS II

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14 GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 2015 x 1060mm GP 18320

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 2000 x 1150mm GP 18345

$6,900 AUD

$6,900 AUD

15 GENERATIONS II SEVEN SISTERS DREAMING 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 2000 x 1750mm GP 18308 $8,900 AUD This is the ancient myth of the Milky Way and the Seven Sisters (Pleiades). This dreaming was inherited by Gabriella from her mother and grandmother and given to Gabriella by her father.

This story takes place at ‘twenty mile’ located near Napperby Creek in the Northern Territory. The Seven Sisters travelled over a vast expanse of country, until they realised that they were being followed by a man called Wati-Nyiru (who was a Tjakamarra man).

With little hope of relief, the Seven Sisters escaped through a fire at Kurlunyalimpa to the Milky Way where they became the stars of the Pleiades in the Constellation Taurus. There they are safe and at rest and watch out over all the women on earth. Wati-Nyiru followed them to the heavens, and became the star Orion, unable to get near them as they move across the night sky. Gabriella depicts the cloud formations in front of the Milky Way in the night sky. The seven concentric circles represent the Seven Sisters while the lone star represents Orion (the Tjakamarra man).

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1160 x 640mm GP 18297 $2,750 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1120 x 630mm GP 18295 $2,450 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2015 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1210 x 910mm DMGP01 $4,250AUD *black box frame

17 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND SEVEN SISTERS DREAMING 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 2130 x 1590mm GP 18309 $10,950 AUD

18 GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2015 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 4850 x 2420mm GP 13628 $65,000 AUD

GENERATIONS II

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 965 x 1840mm GP 18287 $6,800 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND SEVEN SISTERS DREAMING 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 2120 x 1600mm GP 18310 $10,950 AUD

21 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1730 x 1150mm GP 18229 $6,800 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Canvas 1780 x 1190mm GP 18324 $6,650 AUD

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SEVEN SISTERS DREAMING 2009 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 4370 x 1990mm GP 13630 $44,000 AUD

GENERATIONS II

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND SEVEN SISTERS DREAMING 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 2000 x 1180mm GP 18210 $6,900 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1410 x 2160mm GP 18256/13734 $8,200 AUD

25 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1050 x 1980mm GP 18275

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1060 x 1960mm GP 18277

$7,200 AUD

$6,900 AUD

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MICHELLE POSSUM NUNGURRAYI BORN 1970 Michelle Possum was born at Napperby Station, North West of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and is the younger of Clifford’s two daughters. She was taught to paint along with her sister Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi and her brother Lionel Possum by their father.

Clifford is the most renowned painter of the founding group of Papunya artists. Michelle’s work has a strong connection to her father, family and land. Her paintings can incorporate strong figurative elements as well important topography relating to her family’s country, such as the abundance of food and water. Her Dreamings Women’s Ceremonies, Grandmother’s Country, Goanna Dreaming, Seven Sisters and Worm Dreaming are women’s stories from the Mt. Allan area. Michelle first exhibited with her father and sister Gabrielle Possum in Brisbane in 1987 and again at Aranda Art ‘Generations I’ Exhibition in 2009.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2009 Michelle Possum, Australia Dreaming Art, Fitzroy GROUP EXHIBITIONS 1982 Cooee Aboriginal Art, Sydney 1987 Possum Family Paintings, Brisbane 1992 Cooee Aboriginal Art, Sydney 1995 Desert Dreaming 2004 Melbourne Affordable Art Fair, Aranda Art 2004 Sydney Affordable Art Fair, Aranda Art 2005 Aboriginal and Oceanic Art Fair, Sydney 2005 Christmas Show, Australian Contemporary Aboriginal Art 2006 Modern Masters from an Ancient Culture 2006 Opening Exhibition, Aranda Art Alice Springs 2006 Aboriginal and Oceanic Art Fair, Sydney 2006 Shanghai Art Fair, China, Adam Knight 2007 Shanghai Art Fair, China, Adam Knight 2007 Hong Kong Cricket Club, Adam Knight 2007 London Art Fair, UK 2008 Art Sydney, Adam Knight 2008 Art Melbourne, Adam Knight 2009 Art Sydney 2009 Art Melbourne, Adam Knight 2009 Generations I, Aranda Aboriginal Art, Melbourne

2016 Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2017 Japingka Gallery, Fremantle 2019 Generations II, Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal Art, Nagambie, Victoria

27 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas MP 18008 2770 x 1985mm $16,500 AUD This painting represents my Grandmother’s country; it is an abstract landscape using traditional aboriginal motifs and depicts the beauty and abundance of natural resources available in the region. Women are shown gathering food, depicted by the “U” shapes throughout the work. Various bush foods including bush berries and yams are featured throughout my artwork, as are groups of Spinifex grass, campsites, bush fires and sources of water. This area is very important to my family, as this is where we come to find food, educate our young and do business and important Ceremonies.

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1900 x 2050mm MP 18226 $8,800 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1450 x 490mm MP 18312 $1,850 AUD

29 GENERATIONS II LEFT: GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas MP 18246 1410 x 2010mm $6,200 AUD RIGHT: GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas MP 18260 2000 x 900mm $4,900 AUD

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FISHBONE AT NAPPERBY CREEK 2004 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1690 x 1420mm MP 18305 $9,900 AUD

31 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1200mm round MP 18302 $2,900 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Canvas 1780 x 1200mm MP 18321 $6,000 AUD

32 GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2016 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 4850 x 2420mm MP 13629 $55,000 AUD

GENERATIONS II

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen MP 18103 2340 x 1980mm $11,000 AUD

35 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 940 x 1860mm MP 18207 $4,700 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMEN’S CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1450 x 940mm MP 18303 $3,300 AUD

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GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas MP 18313 1000 x 920mm $2,600 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen MP 18112 880 x 880mm $2,200 AUD

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas MP 13649 650 x 590mm $1,100 AUD

37 GENERATIONS II GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen MP 18268 900 x 2100mm

GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY AND WOMENS CEREMONY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas MP 18314 940 x 2110mm

$4,950

$4,950

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LIONEL POSSUM TJUNGURRAYI BORN 1972 - 2019 Lionel was born in the Napperby region, North West of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory in 1972. He was instructed to paint along with his sisters Gabriella and Michelle Possum by their late father Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, one of the most renowned painters of the founding group of Papunya artists.

Lionel’s work has a strong connection to stories passed down by his father; he incorporates strong figurative elements as well important topography associated with Dreaming sites made famous by Clifford Possum. Not only can Lionel paint with the technical brilliance demonstrated by Clifford, he is also very familiar with the detailed songs and stories associated with these Dreamings, whilst painting he would sing and dance when encouraged and expressed his duty in keeping the Dreaming alive, a responsibility reinforced by his late father.

Lionel first exhibited with his father and sisters at Aranda Art, Melbourne in the exhibition ‘Generations I’ in 2009.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2007 London Art Fair 2007 Shanghai Art Fair 2008 Art Melbourne 2009 Art Sydney 2009 Generations I, Aranda Aboriginal Art, Melbourne 2019 Generations II, Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal Art, Nagambie, Victoria

39 GENERATIONS II FIRE DREAMING 2016 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen LP 3064 2000 x 1250mm $16,500 AUD The skeleton figures represent the two Tjungala brothers who perished in a magical bushfire at Warlukurlangu. It is the conclusion of an epic journey the boys make to escape the flames, but eventually they are roasted in the sand when they return home believing that all is forgiven. It is a cautionary tale with a clear moral that is known to all the residents of the Western Desert.

The boys’ father is the Blue Tongue Lizard man, the old Lungkata. He asks his two sons to go out hunting and instead of travelling out into the desert to look for game, they kill and roast the old man’s sacred kangaroo.

When he returns from ceremonies to find his sons cooking his pet, he becomes enraged and uses his blue tongue to light a magical fire. The boys flee with their two spears, woomeras, stone knives and headbands, which are all illustrated. They travel as far as South Australia until they notice the flames dying out. They cautiously return home over the black & charred landscape until they reach Warlukurlangu and it is here that the meet their end and die under the sand as the inferno passes overhead.

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LOVE STORY Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen LP 18323 1500 x 1200mm $12,500 AUD Lionel Possum inherited the Love Story from his father, Clifford Possum.

He paints this story with different designs and colours but as he explains - it’s always the same story. This painting tells of a young Tjungurrayi man’s love for a Napangati woman, who is the wrong skin (kinship) for marriage to the man. According to Aboriginal Law, a Tjungurrayi man should marry a Nangala woman but after seeing the Napangati woman dance at a corroboree camp at Alyerre, the man’s fate was set.

Following his heart, the Tjungurrayi man returned to his campsite at Red Hill and proceeded in a ritual of love magic; whereby, he created a certain sand painting, then cut his hair and on a Wirrakurra (or spindle) began to spin his hair into an unbroken length of string. The young man sang a potent love song and before the sun went down, the Napangati woman, with love in her heart, was drawn to his campsite where she remained with the approval of tribal elders, who according to the artist, recognised the Tjungurrayi love magic as being “too strong; everyone let ‘em go”.

41 BORN 1988 Born in Alice Springs 27th October, 1988, Danny is married to Kamara and together they have 2 boys Khalifa 7 years and Lamara 9 Years.

Danny and Kamara live in Reservoir, Victoria. Danny is the son of Michelle Possum and grandson of Clifford Possum, he paints in the style of Clifford with a very similar sense of design and balance.

POSSUM DREAMING 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 790 x 1010mm DP 18273 $1,650 AUD

GENERATIONS II

DANNY POSSUM

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KHATIJA POSSUM BORN 1989 Khatija Possum was born in Alice Springs in 1989, she is the daughter of Michelle Possum Nungurrayi and Heath Ramzan Tjangala.

Khatija learnt to paint by observing and assisting her mother Michelle, this process highlights the importance of art in keeping their culture alive as stories are passed from one generation to the next.

Khatija is the granddaughter of world renowned artist the late Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Khatija currently lives with her partner John Hayes in Melbourne and has three children - Kheyarni 9, Danny 11, and Baby John who is 3 years of age.

WOMEN’S DANCING CEREMONY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 860 x 890mm KP 18024 $1,550 AUD

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 885 x 1470 mm KP 18307 $2,400 AUD

43 GENERATIONS II KP 18330

KP 18334

KP 18329

KP 18331

KP 18333

KP 18332

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 400 x 400mm $395 AUD per panel

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NYRULLA POSSUM BORN 1990 Nyrulla Possum Burns was born in Sydney in 1990, she is the daughter of Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi and Selwyn Burns.

Selwyn is widely regarded as one of the best guitarist in Australia and has played on stage with Carlos Santana and been a member of indigenous bands such as Coloured Stone, Mixed Relations, Blackfire and No Fixed Address.

Gabriella is one of Australia’s most collectable Indigenous artist. Nyrulla learnt to paint by observing and assisting her mother Gabriella, this process highlights the importance of art in keeping their culture alive as stories are passed from one generation to the next.

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1070 x 715 mm NP 18293

WATERHOLE DREAMING 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 1070 x 620 mm NP 18255

$1,250 AUD

$1,200 AUD

45 GENERATIONS II GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1120 x 970mm $1,850 AUD

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 400 x 400mm

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 400 x 400mm

$695 AUD

$695 AUD

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AZEZA POSSUM BORN 1995 Azeza Possum Ramzan and her partner Harry Hayes live in Reservoir, Victoria. She was born on the 19th of November 1995 and has a 1 year old daughter, Zaraiya Ramzan.

She is the daughter of Michelle Possum Nungurrayi and granddaughter of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 2970 x 1800mm AP 18322 $13,500 AUD

47 GENERATIONS II GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1900 x 1800mm AP 18280 $6,600 AUD

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1640 x 920mm AP 18346 $2,600 AUD

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CHELSEA POSSUM BORN 1991 Chelsea Possum was born in Adelaide, South Australia in September 1991. She is the daughter of Michelle Possum Nungurrayi and Heath Ramzan Tjangala. A granddaughter of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjairri, AO (c.

1937 – 2002), Chelsea and her partner Charlie Harrison have three children; Emily Rose 1 years old, Nakeya 6 years old and Charlie Junior 9 years old.

Chelsea is the second eldest daughter of senior artist Michelle Possum Nungurrayi and Heath Tjangala.

Chelsea learnt to paint by observing her mother. Her art is colourful and dramatic in style, depicting the Dreaming stories and women’s ceremonial activities of her paternal great-grandmother Long Rose Nungala, combined with the bold and precise imaging of her grandfather, aunty and mothers artworks.

Along with her two sisters – Khatija and Azeza, this exciting young artist is making a huge impression on the art world and we have no doubt she will have a long and successful career.

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 790 x 990mm CP 18098 $1,650 AUD

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 790 x 990mm CP 18292 $1,650 AUD

GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 790 x 990mm CP 18294 $1,650 AUD

49 GENERATIONS II

TALIA POSSUM BORN 2000 Talia is the 9 year old daughter of Gurrenah Possum Burns and Norma Hayes, at 9 years of age she has already won a Peoples Choice award and is continuing the artistic style of her mother and grandmother with exceptional promise. She is the granddaughter of Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi.

GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 405 x 505mm CP 18098 $595 AUD

KHEYARNI POSSUM BORN 2000 Kheyarni is the 9 year old daughter of Khatija Possum and John Hayes, she is the granddaughter of Michelle Possum Nungurrayi and Heath Ramzan Tjangala.

GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2019 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Plywood Skateboard

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COLLABORATIVE ARTWORKS

Gabriella & Michelle Possum BODY PAINT / WATERHOLE DREAMING 2008 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 895 x 1500mm GPMP 18306 $5,500 AUD

Clifford & Gabriella Possum SEVEN SISTERS, SALT LAKE AT NAPPERBY AND BUSH YAM 1998 & 2017 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Linen 325 x 1180mm DMCPGP 01 $9,000 AUD *black box frame

51 GENERATIONS II Michelle & Khatija Possum GRANDMOTHER’S COUNTRY 2018 Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgium Canvas 1950 x 1830mm MPKP 13723 $8,200 AUD

Gallery Opening Hours Friday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm or by appointment.

470 Mitchellstown Road Nagambie VIC 3608 03 5736 2222 adam.knight@mitchelton.com.au 0458 220 922