Barbara Mbitjana Moore

Barbara Mbitjana Moore (born 1964) is an Anmatyerre woman who grew up in Ti-Tree in the Northern Territory, until she moved to Amata in South Australia's Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands to live with her husband. Whilst living in Amata Moore began painting at Tjala Arts in April 2003 and, since then, has received widespread recognition and being listed at a winner at the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award's in 2012 and a finalist many more times. Moore has also been a finalist for the Wynne Prize.[1][2]

Art career

Moore began painting at Tjala Arts (formerly Minymaku Arts) in 2003, and painted at Tjala Arts on a daily basis.[3]

Moore paints large scale works to depict her country and its landscape.[3] She mainly uses acrylic paints on linen, and screen printing,[4] and is known for her vibrant and expressive use of colours and designs,[5] particularly bright orange, pink, yellow, and green.[6]

Moore titles all of her paintings "Ngayuku Ngura (My Country)".[6] In the Pitjantjatjara language, the word Ngura describes both the physical geography of land and country, and the place to which someone belongs. It defines where an individual comes from, their family connections and language.[2] Paintings of Ngura often express the artist's personal stories and memories of Country.[6] Elements within the landscape such as tracks, landmarks, rock holes, underground springs, rock formations and sacred sites are recorded from memory, and often depicted from an aerial perspective.[2][6]

In 2018, Moore, along with other artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, opened a gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, with the intention of overcoming unethical practices by art dealers towards Indigenous artists.[7]

Life

Moore was born in Ti-Tree in the Northern Territory.[2] She attended Yirara College, a boarding school in Alice Springs, before returning to Ti-Tree to work as a pre-school teacher.[6] She then moved to Amata, a community in the APY lands of South Australia.[6] In addition to being an artist, Moore is also an Aboriginal Senior Health Worker for Nganampa Health, working in a full-time position at Amata Clinic.[2]

Work

Awards and Nominations
  • 2012     Winner – General Painting Award, 29th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award[8]
  • 2013     Finalist, 30th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award[9]
  • 2014     Finalist, 31st Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award[9]
  • 2015     Finalist, 32nd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award[9]
  • 2016     Finalist, 33rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award[9]
  • 2016     Finalist, John Fries Award[4]
  • 2017     Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[10]
  • 2019     Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[11]

Residency

In November 2019, Moore and the artist Sharon Adamson, accompanied by Annie McLoughlin, manager of Tjala Arts, completed a two-week residency at the Kluge-Ruhe museum.[12] The two artists painted a mural, titled "Ngayulu Nguraku Ninti", across two walls in the museum. The mural conveys the connections Moore and Adamson have to their homeland, and features elements typical of Moore's works including the use of thickly applied paint, bright red and radiating circles.[6] The exhibition and residency were sponsored by the Australia Council for the Arts.[12]

Public Collections

Moore has collections in the Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank,[5] Corrigan Collection, the National Gallery of Australia and in the W&V McGeough Collection.[4]

Exhibitions
  • 2003     Minymaku Arts – Exhibition of Fabrics, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, USA[9]
  • 2007     Colours from our country, Harrison Galleries, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[9]
  • 2012     Tjala 2012, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[9]
  • 2012     APY All Stars, Short Street Gallery, Broome, Western Australia, Australia[9]
  • 2013     Tjukurpa nganampa kunpu kanyintjaku: Stories that keep culture strong, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[9]
  • 2013     APY Lands survey exhibition, Outstation Gallery, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia[9]
  • 2013     Desert Mob, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia[9]
  • 2014     Tjintu kuwaritja wiru mulapa, ReDot Gallery, Singapore[9]
  • 2015     Kwarila Tjunguringayi – All together now, Short Street Gallery, Broome, Western Australia, Australia[9]
  • 2015     Tjintu wiru – Beautiful day, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[9]
  • 2017     Artists of the APY Lands, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[9]
  • 2017     Sharing Country, Olsen Gruin Gallery, New York, United States of America[9]
  • 2017–18 Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, South Australia[9]
  • 2018   Art of the APY Art Centre Collective, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[9]
  • 2019–20 Ngayulu Nguraku Ninti – The Country I Know: Barbara Moore & Sharon Adamson at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia[6][12]

References
  1. "Barbara Mbitjana Moore". Alcaston Gallery (in Polish). Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  2. "Barbara Moore". NGANAMPA KILILPIL: OUR STARS. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  3. "Barbara Moore". Viscopy. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  4. "John Fries Award 2016 Finalist – Barbara Moore". John Fries Award. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  5. "ARTBANK : Barbara Moore – Untitled". Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. "Two Aboriginal Artists Pay Tribute to Their Homeland". www.mutualart.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  7. Schubert, Steven (24 March 2018). "Remote Indigenous artists open up own gallery to stop 'dodgy' art dealers". ABC News. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  8. "Telstra NATSIAA Winners". MAGNT. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  9. "Barbara Mbitjana Moore". Alcaston Gallery. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  10. "Archibald Prize Wynne 2017 finalist: Ngayuku ngura – kapi tjukurla (rock holes near my country, Ti Tree – Anmatyerre country) by Barbara Mbitjana Moore". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. "Archibald Prize Wynne 2019 finalist: Ngayuku ngura (my country) by Barbara Mbitjana Moore". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  12. "The Country I Know: Barbara Moore & Sharon Adamson". Kluge-Ruhe. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
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