Dogs sit on sand hills (foreground) at Twenty Mile. They watching, looking, looking, waiting for families. Families are swimming and sitting under trees in shade. Big rain coming. Everyone loves swimming in rain. Makes everyone cool when its too hot.
Dimensions: 660 x 1120 mm
Name: Grace Kemarre Robinya
Language: Arrernte, Luritja, Western Arrernte, Anmatyerr
Community: Alice Springs
Biography:
Grace Robinya was born and raised in Ntaria (Hermannsburg), her father was a Robinja with links to a series of sites along the Finke River, and her mother was an Ungkwanaka from Running Waters (Irbmangkara). Robinya has fond recollections of sewing and playing sport at the Lutheran Mission of Hermannsburg. At a young age Grace eloped with her husband, and says never looked back! She married and travelled to Coniston Station with her husband. There she had her children, surrounded by cousins and elders in the then thriving Aboriginal camp located near the then operating station. Her children claim as their father’s Country, Patty’s Well, on Napperby Station.
Grace Robinya’s non-figurative paintings have always been highly considered and labour intensive, and generally distinguished by very neat multi-layered dot work. However, since 2015, Robinya’s practice has focussed on figurative paintings, often near-miniatures, detailing important locations and events in her life: her childhood at Hermannsburg Mission and surrounding Ntaria region, or visits to her beloved Irbmangkara. She also records details of station life at Coniston and Napperby Stations, where she and her husband worked as a domestic, and ringer respectively, while raising their family.
A frequent return visitor to Laramba Aboriginal Community now established on Napperby Station, Grace Robinya also documents exciting football and softball carnivals in which her grandsons and granddaughters feature, playing for the winning Anmatyerr teams. These and other works detail life in the remote Aboriginal communities in which she has lived throughout her life.
In 2019 Robinya was shortlisted for the Works on Paper category in the NATSIAAs. In 2020 she was a Highly Commended Finalist in the 41st Alice Prize. In 2015, 2019 and 2020 Robinya exhibited work at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) as part of Tarnanthi. Robinya’s work has been acquired by AGSA, Araluen Art Centre and Artbank as well as the Macquarie Group and Slattery Collections. She was the winner of the Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize (painting & mixed media, 2023) and the Vincent Lingiari Art Award (2021). Robinya has also been shortlisted for the Kilgour Art Prize at Newcastle Regional Gallery (2021), Sir John Sulman Prize (2020), Telstra NATSIAA (2019), 41st & 40th Alice Prize National Contemporary Art Award (2020, 2018) and Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Award (2018).
Ration Day, Maryvale Station This painting depicts the people of Titjikala getting their rations at the old Maryvale Station Store. The ration depot is in the middle – Station Manager used to issue the rations. Read more…
Three houses in Hermannsburg ‘Three houses in Hermannsburg, family houses at Sandhill Camp. That’s like our family area at Hermannsburg. The families are sitting down outside watching tourist cars coming to Alice Springs.’ Dimensions: 560 Read more…
Hawks and Magpies Hawks and Magpies they playing football Dimensions: 560 x 565 mm