ALBURY-Wodonga may be a far cry from central Australia, but one Border man will always have a piece of the desert with him – no matter where he lives.
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And he has opened a gallery in the hope of sharing it with the rest of the community.
Sam Juparulla Wickman is opening a second exhibition, Ochres, at the Central Desert Art Sales gallery this weekend.
More than 20 traditional Indigenous paintings from well-known Aboriginal artists and elders are hung on the walls.
Juparulla Wickman moved to the Border about 20 years ago and said his life in central Australia was “a whole other story”.
He came to Albury-Wodonga to work as an academic at Charles Sturt University and brought a collection of 300 paintings with him from central Australia.
He opened the Central Desert Art Sales gallery about two months ago and wants to show off all the paintings through different themed exhibitions.
“The first exhibition was related to bush tucker and this exhibition relates the ochre and the colours,” he said.
“The next one might relate to bush medicine.”
Juparulla Wickman told The Border Mail the upcoming exhibition would look at the early movement of the dot painting style and the colours used.
“The exhibition is a chance for people to actually see some of the early paintings in that style and some of the changes over time are reflected in this exhibition,” he said.
Juparulla Wickman said while Aboriginal art had changed over time, it was still something very traditional.
“We now put our design on canvas and use acrylic to do that,” he said.
“Indeed Aboriginal people are using ochres naturally, however, putting it onto a canvas is now a more contemporary mode of expression.”
The gallery director said well-known Aboriginal artists would feature in Ochre, including Johnny Possum, Esther Brown, Trevor Dixon, Mabel Watson and Beatrice Gibson.
He said they were mainly from around Papunya, Yuendumu and Willowra.
Juparulla Wickman, who is also a talented artist, said in the future he also hoped to display works from other Aboriginal painters on the Border.
The exhibition, Ochres, will open on Saturday August 15 at 6.30pm and is expected to run for about eight weeks.
The Dean Street gallery is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10.30am to 4.30pm.
