The Hermannsburg Potters are a group of Aranda women who formed an arts centre in Hermannsburg, Northern Territory (Ntaria) who work with painted

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

that draw on many influences, while strongly reflect the distinctive visual Aboriginal culture of Central Australia.

History and influences

Hermannsburg has a strong history with many artistic successes and it is one of the birthplaces of contemporary Aboriginal art. One of the first western artists to visit the Hermannsburg Community was Violet Teauge, who came to raise money for the Kuprilya Springs Pipeline, and she was followed soon after by

Rex Battarbee Reginald Ernest Battarbee, (16 December 1893 – 2 September 1973) was an Australian artist notable for painting landscapes of Central Australia, and for teaching Indigenous Australian, Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira to paint. Early career ...

who encouraged and supported

Albert Namatjira Albert Namatjira (born Elea Namatjira; 28 July 1902 – 8 August 1959) was an Arrernte painter from the MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia, widely considered one of the greatest and most influential Australian artists. As a pioneer of cont ...

, in internationally successful artist from the community, who was the beginning of the watercolour art movement in Hermannsburg. Both the Hermannsburg Potters and the Iltja Ntjarra (Many Hands) Art Centre are influenced by this movement. Pastor Albrecht, a Lutheran missionary, who worked at Hermannsburg from 1926 - 1952, actively encouraged the development of the arts industry as a means for the community to make money; especially in the 1930s when a number of tourists started visiting the community. The Hermannsburg Potters, which is women's only, are a more recent artistic incarnation in the community and it was started when, in 1990, senior law man Nashasson Ungwanaka invited an accomplished ceramicist Naomi Sharp to come and teach. The first small exhibition was held in Alice Springs in August 1991.

Technique

Aboriginal people are intrinsically linked to and inseparable from their land, and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

is an important part of this as it is a "part of the skin of the earth itself". Using this, almost sacred, clay the Hermannsburg Potters were able to create a distinctive style using the traditional hand-coil technique, and the lids support distinctive colourful sculpted animal, birds,

bush tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...

and aspects of community life.

Artists

Elaine Namatjira, granddaughter of

, was one of the leading artists. Her work influenced her nephew,

Vincent Namatjira Vincent Namatjira (born 14 June 1983) is an Aboriginal Australian artist living in Indulkana, in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia. He has won many art awards, and after being nominated for the Archiba ...

. , senior artists at Hermannsburg Potters include: * Anita Ratara Mbitjana * Dawn Wheeler Ngala * Hayley Coulthard Pangangka * Irene Entata Mbitjana * Judith Inkamala Pungkarta * Lindy Rontji Pangangka * Rahel Ungwanaka Kngwarria * Rone Rubuntja Panangka * Sonia Davis

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.hermannsburgpotters.com.au/ Australian potters Northern Territory