Pormpuraaw closes recent exhibition: Colourful Country
Pormpuraaw Art & Culture Centre is well known for their innovative ghost net sculptures and print making. However, their paintings deserve equal recognition and praise.
A select group of Pormpuraaw artists including Meredith Arkwookerum, Katherine Ngallametta, Mylene Holroyd and Jillian Holroyd have gained recent acclaim for their work, winning awards and generating interest for their artmaking and joyful approach to sharing traditional stories.
Delighting in free play with colour and form, these painters have created their own visual language to express their unique identity and place in the world.
“Our talented women tell their stories with vibrant colours. Their paintings make you feel good, like going to a birthday party and seeing colourful decorations", Paul Jakubowski, Art Centre Manager.
Meredith Arkwookerum expresses her joy in painting as a reminder of her youth and culture, “Art brings me happiness. It is my cultural identity; where I belong.”
Complementing these paintings was an immersive installation of ghost net sculptures by additional Pormpuraaw Art & Culture Centre artists, housed from 23 March-29 April at the Cairns Court House Gallery.
Photo credit: Colourful Parrot Family, Meredith Arkwookerum, Acrylic on Canvas. Image & Credits courtesy of Pormpuraaw Art & Culture Centre.