Origins: A folio of prints from contemporary indigenous Australian artists

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fig.1  Abdulla, Ian. "Way to Go!" Screenprint, Printer: Paul Peisley. 

fig. 2  Puruntatameri, Thecla. "Tunga." Etching, Printers: Basil Hall, Toni Bailey, Monique Auricchio.

fig. 3 Marion Baker, Valerie Cullinan. "Tjala." Linocut, Printers: Toni Bailey and Jenny Allen.

Of the twelve works in this folio, I was particularly struck by the 3 pictured above. The latter two are wonderful, sophisticated works from contemporary artists who have terrific sense of space, proportion, contrast and harmony- all visual qualities that any designer (like myself) would want. The first, however, fails to live up to that standard. Ian Abdulla, its creator, is more traditionally a painter, but his screenprint of Kerin Perkin's win in the Olympic 1500m freestyle entitled "Way to Go!" was included as the first print in this folio. Curators Avril Quaill and Susan Jenkins describe the piece as having a "sense of support for the underdog and captures this hard won victory against the odds"[1]. Whilst Abdulla's crude imagery deliberately mirrors this 'underdog' victory, the composition is too symmetrical and dull. The crudity would have been better served with a more striking angle and background. The simplicity of the geometric patterns in the other two prints shows a more mature and sophisticated approach to space and harmony. "Way to Go!"'s inclusion, I feel, is entirely unjustified in what was an otherwise beautiful collection.

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[1] Jenkins, Susan, Avril Quaill, and Workshop Studio One National Print. Origins: A Folio of Prints by Contemporary Indigenous Australian Artists. Canberra: Studio One National Print Workshop, 1997.