item details
NameAlagura too dry
ProductionEmily Kngwarreye; artist; 1990; Australia
Classificationpaintings
Materialsacrylic paint, canvas
Materials Summaryacrylic on canvas
DimensionsImage: 45mm (width), 1227mm (height), 2119mm (length)
Registration Number1993-0017-1
Credit linePurchased 1993 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds
Overview
Emily Kngwarreye started painting only in her late 60s, but within 20 years she was one of Australia’s leading painters. Her practice was rooted in her lifelong experience of cultural customs, but she was also known for her experimental style, which included her layering of dots.
Aboriginal art scholar Brenda L Croft has written that ‘Alagura too dry refers to the land of Kngwarreye’s birth, Alhalker. The dense, stippled layering of dots represents the country during a period of drought, with the darker, surface tones referencing the parched landscape. The painting appears to ripple and breathe, as if someone has just danced across the surface of the canvas, kicking up the desert sands.’ (Art at Te Papa, Te Papa Press, 2009)