Lightning 1998
Synthetic polymer paint on linen canvas
201 x 176.5cm
Purchased 1998. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant
Queensland Art Gallery Collection

Wild yam 1998
Synthetic polymer paint on linen canvas
200.3 x 150cm
Purchased 1998. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant
Queensland Art Gallery Collection

Michael Nelson Jagamara is a senior Warlpiri tribesman from the Western Desert, Northern Territory and custodian of many Dreaming stories. After years of painting in a tradition of layered surfaces with dots and circles and a subdued palette, Jagamara’s painting style took a remarkable turn in 1998 with the production of these works from the New Expressions series which, by comparison, explode into action with flourescent colours and untamed gestures. The new works feature energetic gestures, swiped across minimal surfaces in luminous colours, and apparent calligraphic references. However this departure in style does not represent a departure in cultural intent. Jagamara continues to encode cultural traditions in these paintings which represent more than a liberation of the brush stroke – they are codes to a repertoire of complex ceremonial ground and body designs and dreaming stories relating to the yam, possum, kangaroo, lightning and snake.