Arkeria Rose Armstrong is an Aboriginal artist of the

Gamilaraay The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Austr ...

nation. Having a childhood spent traversing the

Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass ...

in a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

, Armstrong later obtained a teaching degree before an offer from a Danish art gallery owner resulted in her official artistic debut in 2015. Her work is heavily based on inspiration from her grandparents, one a traditional dots in

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

painter and the other one of the last sand painters in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. After her initial exhibition titled ''Strong Connection'' in the Aboriginal Art Gallery in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, the opening presentation for her work having been done by the Australian ambassador to the Netherlands, Armstrong's pieces were exhibited in several other art galleries across Australia in the years since. However, her pieces continue to be exhibited in aboriginal art galleries in the Netherlands as well.

Childhood and education

Born in

Ceduna, South Australia Ceduna ( ) is a town in South Australia located on the shores of Murat Bay on the coast, west of the Eyre Peninsula. It lies west of the junction of the Flinders Highway, South Australia, Flinders and Eyre Highways around 786 km northwest o ...

in 1988, Armstrong's father decided to become a

gold prospector Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although traditionally a commercial activity, in some developed countries placer gold prospe ...

when she was seven, resulting in her spending several years of her childhood in a

traveling across the

. Her mother, Stephanie Armstrong, was a teacher that homeschooled her and her sister while they were traveling to ensure they still obtained a solid education. The family eventually sold the caravan after four years and moved to Broome, Australia where Armstrong went to high school. During that same time period, she had a job as a pearl farmer. She later graduated from La Trobe Bendigo with a degree in teaching.

Art and style

The artistic style Armstrong developed was based on what she learned from her grandparents, with her grandfather's style, a

Yorta Yorta The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wale ...

painter named Don Briggs, focusing on "dots painted in ochre". Her Gamilaraay grandmother, Rose Fernando, was a sand painter of only a few that remain in

and she used her painting style alongside storytelling through the sand drawn images. Armstrong's version of the style uses the dots method combined with bright colors to represent the "natural landscapes of Australia" and the cultural history of her people. Her paintings seek to evoke the stories that her grandmother told and her inspirations from past Aboriginal artists, such as

Emily Kame Kngwarreye Emily Kam Kngwarray (c.1914-1996) was born in her Ancestral lands, Alhalker located in the Sandover region of the Northern Territory, Australia. One of the world’s most significant contemporary painters to emerge in the twentieth century Kngw ...

. Including paintings, she also produces bracelets, pendants, and earrings with her dot style on the exterior.

Career

After receiving her university degree and traveling in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

in 2015, Armstrong happened to meet Michel Arends, gallery owner of the Aboriginal Art Gallery in

, and he invited her to present her first solo exhibition at his family's gallery. She completed a 30-piece collection titled ''Strong Connection'' for the exhibition, with one of her landscapes of the New South Wales region being the primary feature. The exhibition of her work was opened by

Brett Mason Brett John Mason (born 5 March 1962) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was a Liberal/ Liberal National of Queensland member of the Australian Senate from 1 July 1999 to 15 April 2015, representing the state of Queensland. ...

, the Australian ambassador to the Netherlands at the time. She then spent the summer of 2016 on a collection of paintings commissioned by the town of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

and featuring images of the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

landscape. That same year, an Exhibit B gallery was set up for a month in

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, ...

and established by the city coordinator, with Armstrong being one of the featured artists. In October 2017, a new exhibition of her work titled ''Black Soil'' was shown at the Dudley House gallery in

, focusing on the agricultural soil of Gamilaraay country. One of twenty-one Aboriginal artists involved in the ''Stories and Structures – New Connections'' exhibition hosted by Microscopy Australia in 2018, Armstrong's work focused on artistically representing the beauty of microscopic images. She was one of the artists represented in the 2019 ''Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia'' exhibition held by the

Museum of Anthropology at UBC The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada displays world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations in Canada, First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well ...

. She also partnered with the company Occulture to have jewelry developed with her paintings on them. Her work has also been featured at the Aboriginal Art Amsterdam gallery, such as her piece ''Miyamiyaa'' (''Several Girls'') in 2022, which represents the Seven Sisters constellation and its importance in Aboriginal folklore.

Personal life

Armstrong lives in the region of the

Djadjawurrung The Djadjawurrung or Dja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Djaara or Jajowrong people and Loddon River tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people who are the traditional owners of lands including the water catchment areas of the Loddon and Avoca ...

people in Bendigo, Victoria with her husband and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Arkeria Rose Living people Australian Aboriginal artists 21st-century Australian painters 21st-century Australian women painters People from Ceduna, South Australia People from Broome, Western Australia People from Bendigo La Trobe University alumni Gamilaraay 1988 births