OCTOBER/NOVEMBER, 2011
Progress has been steady during October and November. The wet season has started in the Northern Territory with motorists being caught out on occasions as the photo taken at Cahill’s Crossing on the
way to Gunbalanya shows! The drawbridge is about to go up and the community will be cut off for
the next three months or so.
We always enjoy seeing our paintings hanging in the homes of bim bam’s friends.
Roger Hammond sent us this image of the wonderful painting he bought by Minnie Pwerle.
It is hanging in his dining room – very stylish indeed.
And Alex and Jan have installed their paintings by Betty Mpetyane, Lena Pwerle and Gail Napangarti.
Alex and Jan tell me they are over
the moon with their aquisitions.
 
The photo below was taken by one of bim bam’s friends at the Korparilya Parade, Hermannsburg –
Ntaria Aboriginal Community, 120 km’s west of Alice Springs Central Australia.
The Men’s Best Horseman Parade, which is part of the Korparilya Weekend Celebrations, commemorates
the piping of water from Korparilya Spring to Hermannsburg Mission in 1932 to drought proof it.
Looks like the camp dog in the foreground is winning!
 
Kylie Hillier from Tasmania visited the gallery
recently and purchased
“Shark Frenzy” by Steve
Wilson. Steve is one of our very favourite local
artists
and his “Coral Spawning” paintings are
usually painted on a grand scale.
All of his work is
well-received by our visitors.
My acquisition from the recent Sotheby’s auction has arrived and is proudly on display in my home. I love it! It is a Bark Container (c.1970) by Ignatia Djanghara (born c.1930) and is made from natural earth pigments, eucalyptus bark, bush string and spinifex resin. It measures 68cms in length.
August/September, 2011
Much has happened in the last two months.
When I can I like to provide a photo of what remote living
is all about.
The picture below is of Cahill’s Crossing in West Arnhem Land– take note of the crocs
lurking near the crossing.
August is the month for the Telstra Art Awards. I attended the presentation evening and was thrilled by the quality of the works on display, so much so that I had to buy one of the paintings, an occupational hazard. I am
pictured at left with the painting “Bush Potato Dreaming” and the artist,
Molly Napurrurla. There was an interpreter on hand so that Molly could tell
me all about her story and country which is represented in the artwork.
Whilst in Darwin I also attended the Community Art Centre Art Fair, an exhibition of works by Lorna Napurrurla and bought two beautiful carved
Mimih Spirits from Maningrida.
September is the month for the Desert Mob Exhibition held
in Alice Springs. Yet again I purchased a wonderful piece
entitled “View of Country” by Michelle Apwerl Holmes from
the Artists of Ampilatwatja. I also purchased quite a few carvings from Maruku Arts and six exquisite small pots
from the Hermannsburg Potters. The community art centre market place provides an excellent opportunity for these centres to sell paintings and crafts by relatively unknown artists principally engaged in art as a hobby rather than a profession.
I traveled back up to Darwin where I attended the Togart Contemporary Art Award. As the name implies
the works on display were very contemporary and the winning artwork by Jashua Bonson represented
the skin of the saltwater crocodile, the key totem of the artist. Joshua is a 22-year-old emerging artist
who has already been a finalist in the Telstra awards.
We have had many visitors to the gallery but have been remiss in not obtaining photos in a lot of instances. But I am pleased to provide the following images of a couple of bim bam’s friends.
Dean and Tony from Brisbane, shown below in their home, purchased a magnificent painting by Teresa Purla, daughter of Barbara Weir and granddaughter of Minnie Pwerle. I enjoy delivering paintings because it gives me the opportunity to see where our paintings are going to “live”.
Recent visitors to the gallery, Jan Corrigan and Alex Reid from Canberra, purchased a marvellous selection
of paintings which will arrive in their home next week. They are pictured below with three of their purchases. From left to right they are shown with the two paintings by Lena Pwerle and the sublime painting by Gail Napangarti. They also acquired a large painting by Betty Mpetyane but unfortunately the photo I took
turned out to be blurred.
 
June/July, 2011
It’s been a couple of months since I last touched base. Most will know of my involvement with the West Arnhem Shire Council and visits to Darwin associated with this work have kept my very busy this year.
The top end has endured the wettest wet on record and it is only now abating. The photos below are courtesy of the WASCals, an in-house newsletter of the Shire edited by David Ball.
The high water levels around the Gunbalanya township resulted in an influx of crocodiles close to the community posing a danger to residents. The police are shown trying to locate one of the “intruders”.
The picture on the right shows horses grazing on the Minjilang floodplain.
 
And the effect on the roads was devastating. The photo on the left shows water over the road on
the floodplains around Minjilang and on the right is one of the many flooded roads on Croker Island.
 
Alan Tyley, co-ordinator at Keringke Arts located in the Ltyentye Apurta Community (Santa Teresa,
NT)
is over the moon with the commencement of work on Keringke's new gallery/shopfront and
display area
and sent me series of “work in progress” photos, one of which is below.
Just as excited are the people at Better World Arts. They recently announced in a press release that
they have been endorsed by the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand as a Fair Trader
of Australia. The endorsement recognizes Better World Arts work with overseas producers, notably
the artisans in Kashmir, who handcraft cushions, rugs and lacquerware with designs from Better
World Arts partners, the Aboriginal artists from the traditional remote communities of Australia.
Carolyn Wilson, the director of Better World Arts, sent me this picture of one of their artists at work.
Cecelia Alfonso, the Manager of Warlukurlangu Arts, also sent me a picture of the artists from
Yuendumu at work. Employment in Yuendumu and local environs is extremely limited and most
residents are recipients of government benefits. Participating in the art centre is one of the most
popular activities in the area, and provides social, cultural and economic rewards for its members.
 
Danny and I had a wonderful, but brief visit to Melbourne earlier this month. It was a delight to visit
the NGV, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary. As always no visit to Melbourne would be complete without a visit to the Ian Potter Centre which always puts on a wonderful display of indigenous art.
We also engaged in our other “passion” associated with all things automotive and attended the
Shannons Classic Car auction at the Exhibition Centre just to see what the late Peter Brock’s Holden
FX “Goodwood Special” sedan would realize. It was sold for $320,000! A few snaps are shown below.
 
 
And lastly, Danny and I were fortunate to attend a sumptuous and entertaining evening at the Byron
at Byron Resort and Spa. Vogue Living’s Editor David Clark entertained us with a talk on Design Trends encompassing everything from furniture and lighting to homewares and high-tech pieces created by established talents and rising stars. We are pictured with David’s father (left) and David (right).
Our thanks go to Lyn Parché for her gracious hospitality.
May, 2011
One of bim bam’s favourite customers, who recently moved overseas, has sent us some
images showing her aboriginal art purchases hanging in her home.
What a delight it must be to come home and enjoy the likes of Minnie Pwerle and Anna Price!
  
If you are a bim bam customer who would like to share images of your paintings in situ, please
send
them to us along with permission to show
them on this website and we'll post them from time to time.
December, 2010
As Superman would have said the end of the year is approaching as fast as a speeding bullet.
From the economic perspective it has been a difficult year. Working with the West Arnhem Shire Council has presented challenges but here at bim bam we have still enjoyed the company of our wonderful clientele and seen many stunning paintings come and go to new homes around Australia and the world at large.
Danny and I experienced a thoroughly enjoyable five days away earlier this month engaging in four of our favourite passions – live theatre, historic car racing, art and history. We traveled to Sydney to see the
Jersey Boys and what a wonderful show it is. We would strongly recommend as a “must see” not to be missed.
Whilst in Sydney we took the opportunity to see the Annie Leibovitz photographic exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art and were slightly disappointed with the range of works presented but as always taste
in art is a subjective thing. Similarly the Indigenous Art exhibition at the Gallery of New South Wales had its highs and lows. The works in the exhibition were featured in the recent ABC series presented by Hettie Perkins “art + soul”. There is a an associated book and DVD available if you are interested.
This was followed by a weekend of historic car racing at Eastern Creek. The meeting was entitled “The Lotus Sydney Tasman Revival 2010”. Good times were had with great friends. Beautiful historic racing machinery danced, and sometimes pirouetted, with brave and talented drivers in the rain. Just two of the many photos
I took are featured below.
 
Then it was on to Canberra to view the 11 new Indigenous Art Galleries at the National Gallery of Australia.
What a magnificent presentation of indigenous art!!!
To quote from the NGA website: “The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection at the National Gallery of Australia comprises over 7500 works and is the largest in the world. These new gallery spaces
allow much more of the collection to be seen with each one specifically designed for a different geographic region
or aspect of Indigenous art and, where possible, paintings and sculptures are illuminated overhead by
natural daylight, akin to the light in which the works were created. This dedicated display of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art highlights the diversity, richness and excellence of the collection.”
I would strongly recommend that you put a visit to the gallery on your list of “things to do” next year.
We went the short distance across the courtyard to the National Portrait Gallery to view the “Close Up” exhibition by Martin Schoeller. It was so good!! Again, to quote the NPG “German-born American photographer Martin Schoeller's first exhibition in Australia presents compelling large-scale portraits. The exhibition explores human identity through photographs of individuals accustomed and unaccustomed to
the spotlight. Under the unflinching scrutiny of his lens, the faces of actors, politicians, musicians and unknowns, are transformed by unfamiliar detail to expose the complexity of the human face”.
The next day was devoted to a tour of the Australian War Memorial. There were two areas of interest for us: Danny wanted to gain as much knowledge and understanding of the fields of battle in which his grandfather fought during WW1 on the Western Front and I wanted to see the Lancaster Bomber ("G For George", 460 Sqn, RAAF) as my father piloted a Lancaster during WW2. The experience evoked strong emotions in both
of us and a promise to ourselves to return as soon as we can for a lengthier visit.
 
Sadly it is time to say goodbye for this year.
All of us here at bim bam, myself, Danny and Lyn, wish you all a very merry Christmas with family and
friends and hope that the New Year brings health, wealth and happiness to you all. Cheers.
Annual Sale at bim bam byron bay
To celebrate and mark the end of another year in business bim bam byron bay is having its annual sale.
All paintings are discounted 10% to 50%, with some incredible bargains to be had.
If you aren't able to pop into the gallery don't feel left out.
Email or telephone us for the sale price of any painting in our Art Gallery slideshow.
So, If you have been contemplating an art purchase for a while, now is a very good time!
September, 2010
September turned out to be another busy month. Danny and I attended the Desart exhibition in Alice Springs. We went intending NOT to purchase art but came away having acquired 13 paintings plus two
from the exhibition itself!
I am pictured here standing at the entrance to the exhibition. The painting is by Harry Tjutjuna from Ninuku Artists. The painting is part of the permanent collection of the Aruluen Arts Centre.
Whilst we were there we had the opportunity to meet Billy Benn Perrurle whose book “Billy Benn” will be released in December. Billy has to have the most wonderful face I have ever seen.
We purchased two paintings by Billy to go into our personal collection.
Danny is also pictured here with Samuel Miller and the
co-ordinator of Ninuku Arts. We bought this painting by
Sam and were delighted to discover that he is the nephew of
Jimmy Donegan, the winner of this year’s National Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA),
more commonly known as the Telstra Awards.
Jimmy is pictured below with his award-winning work and the similarity between the work of the two artists is obvious. It’s hard to believe but 70 year old Jimmy had never seen the ocean before travelling to Darwin to accept Australia's most
prestigious indigenous art prize.
We attended a meeting of Bim Bam’s industry association Art.Trade held to coincide with the exhibition in Alice and it is always good to speak to fellow gallery owners to see what is happening in our industry. It is also great to meet artists whose works have passed through our gallery.
Danny is pictured here with Kudditji Kngwarreye and his grand-daughter Janet Golder Kngwarreye.
Then it was on to Darwin for me to work with the West Arnhem Shire Council. I was required to visit Jabiru during my stay. I have fond memories of my time working in Jabiru as the Director of Corporate Services
from 2003 to 2005 immediately before I established Bim Bam. It seems quite topical to recall that in 2004 we arranged for Jason McCartney, the North Melbourne footballer, to attend our Gala Sport’s night and I am pictured here with Jason. Readers might recall that Jason had to give up football as he was horrifically burnt
in the Bali bombings in 2002. I am also including a photo of me with Claire Martin, the then Chief Minister of the NT.
 
Driving away from Jabiru I took another photo of a classis Northern Territory sunset. I trust you enjoy the image. This time of the year is referred to as “the build-up” season when heavy dark clouds form but the rain doesn’t fall. It’s very hot and the humidity builds by the day.
On the last day of the month we had some lovely ladies visit the gallery. Brenda Byrne, on the left, from the UK bought the painting by “Gala” and Denise Jeffery from Sydney purchased a painting by Narelle Urquhart.
 
Below left, Lynne Edmonston with the painting by Steve Wilson which she bought during the Byron bay Writers Festival. Right, me with Christian visiting Byron with his dad Wolfgang from Germany. 
And finally on a really funny note I must share with you a couple of photos sent to me by Cecilia Alfonso, the Co-ordinator of Warlukurlangu Artists located at Yuendumu.
 
July & August, 2010
Another two months have flown by this time and here we are now looking forward to Christmas! I have
been traveling so much that I’m not sure where home is but I’m hoping it’s still Byron Bay.
July seems to have been taken up with the roll-out of the new Artists Resale Royalty Scheme. When the
idea of such a scheme was put forward Art professionals (as bim bam is referred to under this scheme)
were fully supportive. As with many things introduced by Government, however, what was suggested and what was legislated were two different things and the bureaucratic red tape surrounding the Scheme has to be seen to be believed. Art Trade, bim bam’s indigenous art industry peak body, felt compelled to issue the following Media Release:
RESALE ROYALTY IMPLEMENTATION DEBACLE FOR THE INDIGENOUS FINE ART INDUSTRY
- Lack of proper Consultation with private sector of the Indigenous Fine Art Industry
- Galleries/Dealers required to send full details and even images to CAL (Copyright Agency Limited) of
all original artworks/artefact sold even if they sell for just $100
- Resale Royalty takes no account of Indigenous Art structure with its unique wholesale/dealer framework
- Indigenous Artists to lose work and their main form of independent income
- Counter to the reasoning behind the Resale Royalty Scheme, the majority of Indigenous Artists and Craftspeople will be adversely affected.
- Rushed and botched Legislation and implementation mean CAL Information Seminars actually take place some two
weeks after its implementation – most unaware of their new obligations
- Draconian fine of $110,000 for a single breach, even though most are still unaware of their obligations due to lack of and patchy Industry promotion
- Galleries forced to pay a royalty on their framing costs and on GST
- Commercial in confidence information could be available to all and sundry under Freedom of Information
Unfortunately, it would appear that the Rudd Government has botched a very important piece of legislation in part due to its erstwhile rush to provide an equitable system where Artists benefit from the appreciation of their original artworks over time. The peak body for all sectors of the Indigenous Fine Art sector, the Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association (ART.TRADE)
has long supported the concept of a secondary resale royalty programme and indeed it is part of our Constitution. However, in stark contrast to the new Indigenous Art Code of Conduct (COC) (which is voluntary), this compulsory Resale Royalty scheme
is severely flawed due to its lack of consultation with the very people and businesses who will have to implement and
administer the scheme.
The voluntary COC was extensively discussed and workshopped throughout Australia which enabled a system that the vast majority of the Indigenous Fine Art Industry would feel comfortable in subscribing to as most of the problems and
impracticalities had been identified and addressed. However, with regard to the compulsory Resale Royalty, not only has there been no consultation with the majority of the private sector of the Indigenous Fine Art Industry, but most are still unaware
of its impending implementation.
This flawed legislation takes no account of the unique structure of the Indigenous Fine Art market. With its contentious “First Sale Trigger Point”, this legislation means that a resale royalty becomes payable if there is an agent or dealer between the Artist and the selling Gallery or even where the Artist sells directly to a Gallery. This is usually the case given that most Artists reside in very remote areas. In effect, this could well mean that a royalty could be triggered twice before it even reaches the Exhibiting gallery.
The private sector comprises at least 60% of the Indigenous Fine Art Market and is often the preferred route for Indigenous Artists to promote and sell their artworks. This may be due in part to the relationship that they have with their Agent/Dealer
and their good contacts, but it is also due to the fact that the private sector invariably pays for artworks upfront (these transactions are governed by best practice under the COC). However, the new legislation means that Agents will be disadvantaged if they choose to pay up front for an art work. Nearly all Indigenous Artists prefer to paid up front for their paintings/artefacts, but the clumsy legislation means that many Agents/dealers will have no choice but to obtain these
artworks on a consignment only basis if they are to compete on an even playing field. Clearly, this drying up of cash flow to Indigenous Artists will have a deleterious effect upon Artists and their often extensive dependents.
As it stands, Agents already take a big risk in purchasing artworks up front as there may be no ready buyer and thus no return on their investment and as Artists are aware, money up front is worth more than a promise to pay once or if the painting is
sold. Both Artists, Agents and galleries stand to lose with the current structure of this poorly conceived legislation. These up-front payments are an integral part of the Indigenous Art economy and this valuable income forms the vast majority of their independent income.
One of the more onerous requirements of this ill conceived legislation, is the requirement to notify, list all details and to provide an image of all sales of all artworks to CAL even if the artwork/artefact falls beneath the $1,000 qualification limit. Several ART.TRADE members have complained strongly about this requirement due to the incredible amount of time, resources and administration that this unprecedented demand will place upon their businesses. As an specific example, one of our members based in Alice Springs sells on average 13,000 paintings per year of which, 11,000 paintings sell beneath the $1,000 resale royalty threshold at an average price of around $100 - $200. Unbelievably, this member is expected to report all of these 11,0000 sales and submit photographs, Artist details and description for each and every one of these works even though conceivably they will never reach the $1,000 resale royalty threshold. Currently, this Gallery does not even photograph these artworks as it isn’t economically viable to do so.
Clearly, these artworks will become completely unviable to this and every other gallery on June 9th when the resale royalty requirements come into effect due to the onerous reporting requirements costing more than the paintings value. Many of these paintings are tourist pieces often by lesser known Artists and this income is their only independent income. These Artists will
be adversely affected and put out of work by this ridiculous and unnecessary reporting requirement. This onerous and cumbersome reporting requirement needs to be abolished immediately as a matter of urgency before Indigenous Artists lose their jobs and their income.
Whilst the Government has partly avoided a retrospective element to the legislation by stipulating that works purchased before 9th June, 2010 are allowed to be sold once before triggering a resale royalty, this again ignores the unique structure of Indigenous Fine Art where many original artworks have already been purchased by Agents/distributors and dealers (essentially wholesalers), as the selling gallery or the next person in the chain will incur the royalty.
The Government needs to acknowledge the very real and relevant differences between the Western and the Indigenous Art markets. Whilst a western Artist may be liable for framing, invitations, exhibition expenses and refreshment costs, traditionally all of these expenses are borne by the Exhibiting gallery with regard to Indigenous Exhibitions. However, this approach means that the exhibiting Gallery will have to pay a royalty to the Government for their framing costs! Unlike the general retail
industry, most galleries and businesses within the Indigenous Industry are very small enterprises of just one to two people operating on
a commission basis of between 20% - 40% from which all costs such as wages, rent, rates, utilities advertising invitations
and Exhibition cost must be met.
I urge the Government to push the pause button on the implementation of this flawed legislation (with regard to the Indigenous sector) before incredible damage is done to this
fragile Industry and to the very Artists that the Government is seeking to enfranchise and for the Government to immediately consult widely so that a workable framework can be established and embraced by all within the Indigenous Fine Art Industry.
This ad hoc approach of “one size fits all” to an important Industry reform displays a complete lack of knowledge regarding the Indigenous Fine Art Industry and will inevitably do irreparable damage to the livelihoods and income of Indigenous Artists and their representatives alike.
The Fine Art Industry does not have the resources of the Mining Industry to combat this mistake nor does it have the
resources to implement this scheme and its onerous reporting requirements, but just as many careers and livelihoods are on the line.
Please feel free to contact me on this email address or the following ‘phone number to discuss the implications of this ill conceived legislation further.
Regards,
Ian Plunkett
ART.TRADE President
There has been some movement since then but everyone is hoping that common sense will prevail and the reporting requirements will undergo a major overhaul – we’ll wait and see.
And as if that weren’t enough then there was the “Super System (Cooper) Review Report” to deal with. The Review recommended that SMSFs that were not APRA regulated funds be prohibited from investing in such assets, and that a five year transition period should be applied to existing SMSFs, during which SMSFs
would be required to convert to a small APRA fund or dispose of existing collectable and personal use assets (Recommendation 8.14).
With an election imminent at the time, and after an extreme amount of lobbying by the Save Super Fund, all three major political parties in Australia reached a consensus position to rule out the Cooper Report proposals to ban artworks from SMSFs.
At last the Australian art market could return to a state of certainty for the first time since these recommendations were made public on April 29.
But there were more exciting pleasures to be enjoyed to make up for the angst – such as the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival. For the first time bim bam supported the Festival by becoming a major sponsor – our session entitled:
In Conversation – Territories: Writing indigenous characters.
Phillip Gwynne with Larissa Behrendt
(pictured with me at right)
I found this session to be very enjoyable – Phillip obviously has a wicked sense of humour. His comments, particularly in relation to his award-winning book “Deadly Unna?”, were totally entertaining as were his reflections on his past upon which the book is based.
The most significant event during August was of course the Telstra Art Awards. This is an exciting time to be in Darwin and from an industry perspective even more so this year because a seminar concerning the Resale Royalty was held as well as the Annual General Meeting of Art.Trade.
I am pictured at the Art Fair with Deborah Wurrkidj (left) and Jennifer Wurrkidj (centre). I purchased two large pieces of fabric from Babbarra Designs - the large piece at left was designed by Deborah and is entitled “Yawkyawk” whilst the piece folded in front of us was designed by Jennifer and is entitled “Yawkyawk and Bininj”. They were both delighted with my purchase!
Then I visited the Mardbalk Art Centre stand and was thrilled to buy a painting by Richard Dhaymutha. Richard was a finalist in this year’s Telstra Awards. It was wonderful to speak with Richard and have him explain the meaning of his painting. Belinda Carlson, at left, is the Co-ordinator of the Centre and works tirelessly to encourage the artists and develop the reputation of the Centre.
I purchased many paintings while I was away and they will be on the website soon.
But as I left Darwin I took this photo from my hotel balcony of one of the typical sunsets to share with you.
And of course while I was away Lyn and Danny continued to sell paintings. Pictured below are three of bim bam’s happy customers. Finbarr (left), Clive (centre), and the Wilhelm Family (right).
  
June, 2010
Another month has flown by and here we are now into the New Financial Year.
I’m not quite sure whether I should be elated or depressed!!
There are plenty of reasons to celebrate June however. I now have some images from my European trip.
I won’t bore you with the many, many tourist pics but there are a few special ones I’d like to share with you.
One of the places I most wanted to visit whilst in Paris was the Musée du quai Branly. It opened in 2006 and is dedicated to indigenous art and craft. The picture on the left I took standing outside the museum looking up at the ceilings of the 3 floors of offices – they were all painted
by Australian artists and look stunning. The ceiling of the museum gift shop was painted by the very famous Maningrida artist, John Mawurndjul. The supporting beam at the back has been painted to look like a memorial pole – very effective.
Danny and I traveled by train to Villers-Bretonneux site of one of the most important battles on the Somme during WW1. We visited the war memorial to see where Danny’s Grandfather had fought as a sixteen year old.
In the First World War, on 24 April 1918, the small town of Villers-Bretonneux was the site of the world's first battle between two tank forces: three British Mark IVs against three German A7Vs. The Germans took the town, but that night and the next day it was recaptured by 4th and 5th Division of the AIF at a cost of over twelve hundred Australian lives. The people of Villers-Bretonneux remain indebted to Australia for this feat.
And on the way home Danny enjoyed a scintillating conversation with a couple of sculptures outside the Singapore Art Museum.
One of bim bam’s favourite people, Nicole Gex from France, provided us with the use of her charming apartment in Paris whilst we were there and Danny and I thank her for her warm hospitality. Nicole has sent us a photo of one of her bim bam paintings now proudly hanging in her home.
On Saturday 5 June I attended the presentation of the 2010 NPWS Aboriginal Art Awards at the Lismore Regional Gallery. Apart from the beautiful art on display I really enjoyed the Bushfood sensations provided by “GunnaWannaBe”.
Mirra-Winni Gaze of Brunswick Heads (pictured left) received Open 1st Prize $3,000 with her work The Fish Trap and the Pot, made from woven grasses and a clay pot. Mirra-Winni said the work is 'Dedicated to the stolen generations. To all the little children taken from their parents. To the mothers and fathers. The pot represents strength and purity. The fish trap represents an ancient way of life living close to nature'.
The $1,000 Collaborative Award for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists working together, was won by Karla Dickens (pictured right) and Ishta Wilson, both of Lismore. 'Mother Of All no.12' is an Epson print on paper which is part of a series on which the two women have collaborated
in investigating boundaries of the sacred.
And then it was off to Darwin for more work for another two weeks.
This trip I stayed at one of Darwin’s newest hotels, The Medina,
set amongst the marvelous Darwin Port redevelopment.
What impressed me most about the hotel was the extensive
use of indigenous art and craft throughout the foyer, walkways and restaurants.
And just last weekend saw the launch of the artsCape Biennial 2010. The artsCape Biennial is an exhibition of environmental sculpture situated within the beautiful beachside parklands in the heart of Byron Bay – just up the road from bim bam!!. A free 16 day outdoor sculpture event, artsCape promotes the visual arts and cultural development in the Northern Rivers region of Australia. And having seen the sculptures I would strongly recommend that you visit soon as it finishes on 11 July.
Danny is pictured above with invited Japanese artist Keizo Ushio.
Collaborative artists Dominique Sutton and Sasha Reid are pictured on right with their work “Melt”.
In July’s Newsletter I’ll chat about the new Art Royalty Scheme and proposed changes to Self Managed Superannuation Funds which will impact on investing in art.
April and May 2010
April and May were interesting/busy months at bim bam byron bay – hence the combined Newsletter! Half of April was spent in Darwin and the majority of May I was overseas visiting the most marvelous art galleries.
A beautiful group of students visiting Australia from Denmark called in for a chat about Indigenous Art. Martin, Lasse and Christian are pictured holding the paintings they bought.
Ian and Claire Edwards called into the gallery. This charming couple from Gymea Bay, NSW, were enjoying their honeymoon in Byron Bay. They purchased a very special painting by Makinti Napanangka to remember the occasion.
One of Bim Bam’s favourite customers, Dr Geoff Strutton, from Brisbane acquired a fabulous painting by Gloria Petyarre which measures 190x205cms. Fortunately Bim Bam uses an expert transport company, Artwork Transport, and Geoff was grateful for the assistance they provided in locating it within his home which was no easy feat.
The photo shows the painting as it hangs – from floor to ceiling!!
Simon and Claire Raeburn were visiting Australia from Devon, UK, when the Icelandic volcano decided to erupt. It delayed their return home but gave them an opportunity to visit the gallery.
They are pictured with the painting by Janet Nakamarra “Water Dreaming” which they purchased.
Sudrishti and Varaja from Sydney bought a painting each – Sudrishti is holding her painting by Mary Morton and Varaja holds his Nora Petyarre.
Both are very involved in the Sydney Buddhist Centre – Varaja is the chairman of the Centre.
Late in April I traveled to Darwin and bought many wonderful new paintings for the gallery. They included works by Galys Tasman, Lorna Brwon Napanangka, Lilly Hargraves Nungarrayi and several others. The images will on the web site shortly.
Where we can Bim Bam is happy to install paintings for its customers.
In March Yolanda and Randall Carter bought this impressive painting by Steve Wilson for their marvelous home on the banks of the Brisbane River.
With the assistance of my daughter and son-in-law, Kathryn and Rocky Muzzi, who reside in Brisbane, I was able to install the painting for Yolanda while Randall was away.
The painting is actually secured to a panel which slides to the left to reveal the home entertainment system – very creative!
One of our favourite bim bam byron bay customers, Elizabeth Crawford,
purchased a magnificent painting by Minnie Pwerle some time ago (she is pictured with her painting).
Elizabeth recently travelled to the USA for an extended family visit.
Prior to her departure she purchased two more paintings.
One by Anna Pitjara (on the left)and the other by Katherine Nakamarra
(the daughter of the very great Walangkura Napanangka).
 
The latter painting I had only just bought on my last trip! The paintings are now winging their way to Massachusetts. |
