Robert Fielding brings powerful stories to Maitland Regional Art Gallery

This summer at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG), audiences will experience the powerful storytelling and collaborative generosity of celebrated Yankunytjatjara/Arrernte artist Robert Fielding in his exhibition Tjukurpa – Handle It, opening in November. 

An artist, storyteller and a keeper of Tjukurpa (ceremony and culture) who lives and works in Mimili Community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, Robert Fielding is descendant to the first Afghan cameleers and the Yankunytjatjara and Western Arrernte people of the central desert. 

Gallery Director Gerry Bobsien said, ‘With a committed curiosity, a passion for collaboration and a compelling turn of phrase, Robert Fielding is one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists.’ 

Tjukurpa – Handle It will showcase Fielding’s 2022 unique state print portfolio, produced in collaboration with Melbourne based Trent Walter at Negative Press, which draws upon the ideas and powerful storytelling in Fielding’s diverse backstory of works. 

‘Over the past year, Fielding and the team at Mimili Maku Arts worked closely with us at MRAG and embarked on conversations with community in the lead up to a significant exhibition of Fielding’s work here on Wonnarua Country,’ Ms Bobsien said. 

‘At the heart of this exhibition is Fielding’s enduring and persistent passion for printmaking and his unflinching commitment to telling the stories of his family, teachers and Elders.’  

This collection, exhibited for the first time in Maitland, pushes the boundaries of central desert art, spanning and expanding the fields of paint, print, photography, poetry, drawing, film and sculpture. 

‘These artworks are about holding onto the importance of Mimili,’ Mr Fielding said. ‘Holding onto the importance of all your male teachers, all your matriarchs – Mayatja, Wati, Tjilpi Minyma, Kungka.  

‘It’s about holding onto what Mimili is about because this is where I came from. It’s about holding onto the importance of what this is, the importance of taking back the land and holding it tightly. 

‘We are all affected by our kinship, our relationships, our connection, our success, our highs, our lows and our rejections, but this work tells us don't ever let go of that light, that candle of what Mimili is all about. Tjukurpa. Maku. Iwiri. The roots of this community.’ 

The unique state print portfolio will be joined by some of Fielding’s other significant works from the past decade, bringing together threads of his past and present to create a new conversation between times, places and cultures. 

In the weeks leading up to the exhibition, Fielding will be in residence in Maitland, alongside four other Mimili artists and accompanied by Trent Walker, to collaborate with artists and Elders from Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council, share knowledge and make new work. 

Robert Fielding’s Tjukurpa – Handle It will be on exhibition at MRAG from 9 November 2024 to 9 March 2025.  

For more information about current and future exhibitions, visit mrag.org.au