Ian Abdulla (1947 – 29 January 2011) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

contemporary artist Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art i ...

. A

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

man who grew up on the banks of the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American bicycle manufacturer * Murray Motor Car Company, an American car manufacturer * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trus ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, he has been called Australia's greatest

naive artist Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

Early life

Abdulla was born in 1947 at Swan Reach, on the Murray River, in the

Murraylands The Murraylands is a geographical region of the Australian state of South Australia (SA); its name reflects that of the river running through it. Lying due east of South Australia's capital city, Adelaide, it extends from the eastern slopes ...

region of South Australia. His art depicts the landscape and activities of this area, with a strong storytelling element.

Career

In 1988, Abdulla learned

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

at a workshop in

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...

, and the following year he began painting. In 1991 Abdulla was named South Australian Aboriginal Artist of the Year, and was awarded an

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

Fellowship in 1992. His book, ''As I Grew Older'' was awarded the Australian Multicultural Children's Literature Award in 1994 and, ''Tucker'' was short-listed for the Children's Book Council Eve Pownall Award for Information Books in 1995. Abdulla's work featured on the cover of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

's annual report. His works have been exhibited around the world and form part of the permanent collection at the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

and the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Death

On the morning of 29 January, at the age of 63, he died at the Berri Hospital, South Australia after a brief battle with cancer. His family was by his side.

Style

His works are distinct for their juxtaposition of text and image against a flattened foreground. Abdulla's handpainted annotations briefly describe the scene depicted and are placed dead centre at the top of his paintings.

Works

Books

* *

Artworks

*''Swimming before school'' (1995), synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 239.5 x 160.0 cm stretcher. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. *''Pelicans at Katarapko'' (1994), synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 121.8 x 151.5 x 4.0 cm stretcher. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Sources

* * (includes a list of major exhibitions) River, Land, Memory: the work of Ian Abdulla, Adelaide Festival of Arts, on display at the Flinders University Art Museum, 2002. Nicholls, Christine, 2002, River, Land and Memory, The Work of Ian Abdulla, In Conversation: Ian Abdulla and Christine Nicholls, in exhibition catalogue River, Land and Memory, The Work of Ian Abdulla, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. March 2002, Interview of Ian Abdulla and Christine Nicholls, with Ian Henscke, ABC Television, South Australia.

References

External links

Ian Abdulla
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulla, Ian Australian Aboriginal artists Australian painters Ngarrindjeri people 1947 births 2011 deaths Australian Muslims