Senior Pitjantjatjara artist Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin wins the 2022 Hadley’s Art Prize

Congratulations to Senior Pitjantjatjara artist Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, the winner of this year’s Hadley’s Art Prize, Hobart – an annual, acquisitive award and Australia’s richest landscape prize worth $100,000 – for her work titled Antara. Goodwin is the first woman to win the major prize since its inception in 2017.

Goodwin’s winning work depicts the ancient storyline of Maku Tjukurpa, or Witchetty Grub story, from Mimili, an Anangu community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the north west of South Australia. Goodwin captures the vast, arid landscape of Antara, a sacred ceremonial site northwest of Mimili community characterised by rounded granite hills, low scrub and sandplains.

Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Antara, 2020, synthetic polymer on linen, 150 x 150cm

 

I paint the Antara storyline, the Witchetty Grub Tjukurpa. It’s a very old story from a long time ago that I was taught when I moved to Mimili as a young girl. Now I look after it and teach it to the children. The Witchetty Grub story is a big ceremony. There are three deep rock holes where we go and lots of songs associated with this place. I love to sing them when I paint, sharing them with my granddaughters and friends.”

– Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin.

 

This year’s winning work was selected from a group of thirty-five finalist works by a panel of judges, including Australian Waanyi artist Judy Watson, Dr Mary Knights, Senior Curator of Art at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and Wayne Tunnicliffe, Head Curator of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The judges said of the winning work:

“Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin’s ‘Antara’ is an incredibly resolved work of art and works so well as a whole. The colour palette is fascinating – the colours push and pull across the painting. The work generates movement. You can imagine the artist singing; it’s almost like a performative work. There is strong cultural integrity. The Tjukurpa resonates through the work. It is multilayered with a rich narrative that is important to her and her community. There is a diversity of brushstrokes and mark-making in a distinctive, raw, and energetic way. This powerful painting is full of life.”

Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin with winning work, Antara, 2020, synthetic polymer on linen, 150 x 150cm. Photograph: Jessica King

Alongside the major prize, the Residency Prize valued at $10,000 was awarded to Darwin-based artist Max Bowden for her work titled And a nice day was really had by all. The Residency prize is presented by Hadley’s sister property, the Old Woolstore Apartment Hotel, Salamanca Arts Centre and Artery and includes a one month artist residency aimed at supporting an emerging artist.

The $1000 Packing Room Prize was awarded to Tasmanian-based artist Catherine Woo for her work titled A moment in the day, and the Student Prize worth $500 went to 18-year-old local Tasmanian artist Adam Howell.

The Hadley’s Art Prize finalists’ exhibition is on display at Hadley’s Orient Hotel, Hobart, from 23 July to 21 August 2022.

hadleysartprize.com.au

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