SPACE 2 : ANDREW ANKA

Exhibition dates. 4 - 15 Oct 2023
Opening Reception : Thursday 5 Oct 2023, 6:00 - 8.30pm

GREENWATER

In may 2022 I had the honour to be invited into the lands of the Yolngu in east Arnhem Land. Gapuwiyak is where the people who work in paradise would go to for their annual holidays, if they knew it was there. You can keep your tourist centres of the Kimberly and Kakadu - all good, please enjoy. Not everyone is built to drive the Central Arnhem Road, then drive 75kms further than one can go, swim in and camp beside a crocodile infested river, and be stalked by a bull buffalo along the banks of that river only excel in that environment.

Spending time in the Australian armed forces had prepared me for that experience and I took away a deep admiration for the history of the country and its people. I almost expected some great lost fauna to wander out of the bush, pass by our camp and head down a well-trodden game path for a drink. Such was my sense of childlike wonder, that I continue to have for the place. Greenwater is the byproduct of that trip. I have been exploring the theme of survival in a hostile environment, which includes physical and emotional dangers and the exploitation of the natural world and its inhabitants, which will become more evident in future exhibitions.