Grandmother’s Gold Country 2000

Curator: Looking at this work from 2000, acrylic on canvas, Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi's "Grandmother's Gold Country," what strikes you most, Editor? Editor: Gosh, it feels like looking through a microscope at… the universe? I mean, it’s teeming with so many tiny details; the pointillist technique creates a vibrating, almost hallucinatory surface. Curator: The material qualities of the canvas and the acrylic are key. The weave of the canvas supports and grounds the imagery, while the paint allows for that build-up of intricate dots that characterize the Indigenous painting tradition. It's also important to remember that this work, in its use of acrylics on canvas, is both continuing and consciously departing from traditional practices. The global circulation and availability of materials have certainly had a transformative effect. Editor: That's so interesting to think about! For me though, I'm struck by the repetition, that concentric circle motif – it feels both ancient and somehow...cellular. You can see how the landscape is built up from these individual 'cells' of color and form. Is "Grandmother's Gold Country" a literal representation of the landscape? Curator: On the surface it's not literal. But remember, landscape in Indigenous art isn't simply visual representation; it's inextricably tied to ancestral stories, Dreamtime narratives, and knowledge of the land's resources. So, while the patterns may seem abstract to us, they represent deep, embedded understandings of place and being. Also, consider that painting serves as both an artistic and economic form for these communities, reinforcing cultural continuity in a global market system. Editor: So, even the act of selling this kind of painting is interwoven with maintaining the culture? I am blown away by how a work like this can speak on so many levels. Thanks for laying that all out. Curator: Always a pleasure! And perhaps understanding that history also allows one to engage more meaningfully with the work on a personal level.