Art Almanac congratulates first-time finalist Zaachariaha Fielding, who has won the Wynne Prize 2023 for his painting Inma, depicting the sounds of Mimili, a small community in the eastern part of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, South Australia.
Winner Wynne Prize 2023, Zaachariaha Fielding, Inma, acrylic on linen, 306.2 x 198.5cm. © the artist. Photograph: © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter
Fielding shared:
“I feel like dancing right now. The work is music, and I am music. My work is a celebration and is a song in itself and the sound comes from my community.
“I am going to write an amazing song about this experience. My heart is so full. I can’t wait to tell my family. This is a memory that I was able to document which happened in Paralpi. It’s a place that’s like the Sydney Opera House for the APY Lands! It’s where people come to embrace and celebrate children, teaching them how to move and mimic their clan emblem, and, for Mimili, this has always been the maku (witchetty grub).
“The atmosphere of this work is full of sound, movement and teaching. All of the communities are coming together, sharing their storylines. However, this platform is only for children. This is for the babies and it’s about them being taught by the masters, their Elders.”
The Wynne Prize is Australia’s oldest art prize and is awarded annually for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists.
The exhibition of the Wynne Prize 2023 finalists, along with this year’s Archibald and Sulman finalists, will be on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 6 May to 3 September 2023.
