The winner of the $100,000 Hadley Art Prize is an emerging artist from a remote Aboriginal community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Carbiene McDonald Tjangala picked up a paintbrush for the first time less than a year ago, through a Men's Art and Culture Revival program at an Alice Springs arts centre.
He is now the recipient of the largest prize ever granted to an artist represented by the renowned institution, Papunya Tjupi Arts Centre.
Manager Emma Collard said they were proud to celebrate with Mr Tjangala.
"Carbiene has become one of Papunya Tjupi's most exciting emerging artists, with his recent achievements showcasing his dedication and belief in himself as well as inspiring other young men in Papunya," Ms Collard said.
"Not only has he had his first solo sell-out show at Raft Artspace in Alice Springs earlier this year, but he has already exhibited nationally with galleries such as Outstation Gallery and internationally with Art Kelch in Germany."
The Hadley Art Prize was established in 2017 and is awarded to the best portrayal of Australian landscape. It is believed to be the world's most lucrative art prize - which could be why it drew more than 630 entries this year.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Judge Susan McCulloch OAM said the innovation in Mr McDonald Tjangala's painting was very impressive and exemplified confidence, power and subtle poetry.
"The piece's quality of shimmer harks back to paintings of the artist's forebears but brought into being in a completely new and unique way," Ms McCulloch said.
"The intensity of light in the work is mirage-like - it is blinding and mesmerising.
"You really have to see this work in person."
The painting, titled Four Dreamings, depicts four dreamtime stories which Tjangala inherited from his father.
"These tjukurrpa [dreamings] are associated with a series of waterholes running between Docker River and Kata Tjuta [in the Northern Territory]," Mr McDonald Tjangala said.
The Hadley is an acquisitive prize, meaning the Hadley's Orient Hotet in Hobart purchases the winning entries, and permanently displays them at its galleries.
- See the 2019 finalists at the Hadley's Orient Hotel until August 18.