RAFT Sally Mulda ISSUU Catalogue

R A F T w i t h Ta n g e n t y e r e A r t i s t s p r e s e n t

E V E RY D AY - S a l l y M u l d a

HID D EN H I STO RI ES, LI V I N G ST O R I E S: T HE A R T O F SA L LY M UL DA A year or so ago, the re w as rev ive d ta lk o f e x pa n din g th e “ du a l n a m in g ” o f pa r ts of the Alice Sp rings tow nsc a pe — o r eve n , da rin g ly — a ssig n in g Ar re r n te wo rds alone to local f e ature s. It w a s a n grily dism isse d by so m e disgr u n tle d le tte rsto- editor-w rite rs as a w aste o f ta x paye rs’ m o n ey. B u t, fo r m e , it wa s a n o th e r reminde r that Mp ar ntwe —like m u ch o f th e re st o f Au stra lia — is ove r la id with hidd e n historie s. Historie s h idde n — ca lcu la te dly — by ge n e ra tio n s o f de n ia l a n d hostility to its trad itional own e rs a n d cu sto dia n s.

Perhap s this is nowhe re more tr u e , h e re , th a n in th e h isto r y o f th e town ca m ps of Mp ar ntwe . It is e ntire ly like ly th a t m o re pe o ple in th is town , lu dicro u sly, kn ow far more about the voyage of C a pta in C o o k in to B o ta ny B ay 2 5 0 ye a rs a go th a n his torical eve nts f ar more re ce n t— a n d o n go in g — in a n d a ro u n d th e sto r y o f th e people living in the Mp ar ntwe town ca m ps. It is a h isto r y th a t go e s ba ck fro m the e ar ly days of T he Bungalow se t u p in 1 9 1 5 to ta ke in “ h a lf- ca ste ” kids, a n d its e xile to Jay Cre e k. It’s a h isto r y th a t in clu de Alice S prin g s be in g de cla re d an are a prohibite d to Aborigi n a l pe o ple in 1 9 2 8 , th ro u g h to n ig h tly cu rfews fo r A boriginal f ringe dwe lle rs, to o u trig h t a tte m pts to e x pe l a ll Abo rig in a l pe o ple fr om the tow n b ound arie s, su ch a s th e fo rce d e x pu lsio n o f 3 6 0 pe o ple to A m oonguna in 1960.

Portrait courtesy Tangentyre Artists.

One such “tow n camp e r”—th e e x tra o rdin a r y pa in te r, S a lly Mu lda — a sks u s to obse r ve , to liste n and to le a r n fro m th e se h idde n h isto rie s, a n d n o be tte r o n e to te ll the m.

On he r se cond solo outing a t R AFT Ar tspa ce , S a lly Mu lda co n so lida te s a nar rative style that goe s back fo r a t le a st a de ca de in h e r wo rk. T h ey a re im a ge s that are inde lib ly that of town ca m p life , a n d th e in te ra ctio n s town ca m pe rs have be twe e n e ach othe r an d th e re la tio n sh ips th ey h ave with wh a t— in m a ny way s—is an “outside wor ld ” t h a t su bje cts pe o ple to powe rs a n d eve n ts th a t a re large ly beyond the ir control o r in flu e n ce .

In he r bold style , she te lls o f e n co u n te rs with po lice — a se e m in g ly co n sta n t intr usion in the camp s. Of gro g se izu re s a n d in te r ro ga tio n . Above a ll, c on sid e rations of pove r ty. Of scra pin g by fo r fo o d. Of do in g with o u t m o n ey to pay p owe r b ills. Sp e aking tr u th to Ja ca n a ?

B ut she also te lls of the com m u n a l so lida rity o f ca m p life , o f sh a rin g fo o d, o f s itting around the f ire , and s pe n din g tim e with kids. Of h e a din g o u t to Tra e ge r Park f or game s of f ooty. Cur re n tly liv in g a t Abbo tt’s C a m p, it’s a life sh e sh a re s wit h he r Southe r n Luritja cou n tr y m e n a n d wo m e n th a t lin k h e r to h e r bir th pla ce at T itjikala, to he r lif e at Am o o n g u n a wh e re sh e we n t to sch o o l, a n d o n to th e fr in ge s of Mp ar ntwe tod ay.

‘No Power Card’. MM10708-20. Acrylic on linen, 61 x 61cm. 2020

A d isp assionate and d e e p ob se r ve r o f life , in way s th a t go we ll pa st a ny ide a o f c on sultants’ re p or ts, he r d ist in ctive ly v ibra n t h a n d- pa in te d de scriptio n s play a s bold he ad line s to he r p aintin g s. To wh a t is h a ppe n in g in th e m a n d to th e live d env ironme nt of the tow n camps. S h e is, th ro u g h th is life o bse r ve d, reve a lin g th e hidd e n historie s that manif e st th e m se lve s eve r y day. *********** It is f itting that this ye ar’s Alice Prize se e s win n e r Ar re r n te a r tist T h e a Pe rkin s, a grandd aughte r of Char le s Pe rkin s— a fo r m e r in m a te o f T h e B u n ga low— be in g honoure d alongside Sally Mu lda , wh o h a s a h ig h ly co m m e n de d pa in tin g in th a t awa rd. T he a has a working re la tio n sh ip with Ta n ge n tye re Ar tists, wh ich in tu r n s up por ts the work of tow n ca m p a r tists su ch a s S a lly.

A no the r living stor y. Just ch e ck o u t h e r pa in tin g , a r t toyo ta pickin g S a lly fo r painting!

C hi ps M a c k i no l t y, M ay 2 0 2 0

‘Three Men Came at Night Time with the Car’. MM10787-20. Acrylic on linen, 51 x 61cm. 2020

‘Two Women Eating Dinner’. 10803-20. Acrylic on linen, 55 x 60cm. 2020

‘Two Women Branding Stick for Money’. MM10694-20. Acrylic on linen, 59.5 x 61cm. 2020.

‘Night Time, Early Morning, Daytime Stories’. MM10425-19. Acrylic on linen, 61 x 152.5cm. 2019

‘Town Camp Life’. 10820-20. Acrylic on linen, 61 x 152.5cm. 2020

‘Family Stories’. 10835-20. Acrylic on linen, 76 x 122.5cm. 2020

‘Night Time/ Day Time’. 10652-20. Acrylic on linen, 66 x 122cm. 2020

‘Two Policeman...’ MM10764-20. Acrylic on linen, 39 x 122cm. 2020

‘All the People Going Shopping’. MM10785-20. Acrylic on linen, 75 x 99cm. 2020

‘Magpie and Eagle’. 10811-20. Acrylic on linen, 460 x 905cm. 2020

‘The Art Toyota’. 10834-20. Acrylic on linen, 61 x 91.5cm. 2020

‘Two Policeman Looking for Someone’. MM10655-20. Acrylic on linen, 45 x 65cm. 2020

‘Policeman Taking Beer, Rum & Coca Cola’. MM10663-20. Acrylic on linen, 30.5 x 61cm. 2020

‘Two Policeman Stories’. MM10780-20. Acrylic on linen, 31 x 61cm. 2020

Portrait courtesy Tangentyre Artists.

EVERYDAY - Sa ll y Mulda, 2 2 MAY - 1 3 J UNE 2 0 2 0 8 HELE CRESCENT ALICE SPRINGS NT 0872. T 0428 410 811 E art@raftartspace.com.au W www.raftartspace.com.au