UNTITLED, 2010
TOMMY WATSON
synthetic polymer paint on linen
119.0 x 199.0 cm
inscribed verso: artist's name, date and size
Agathon Galleries, Sydney
Private collection, Melbourne
'Tommy Watson's paintings are powerful statements of title to land.'1
In his younger years Tommy Watson, like many indigenous people born in the early twentieth century, lived a traditional nomadic life until his teenage years. He travelled thousands of miles on foot between waterholes, hunting large birds and animals with his family. Through this nomadic lifestyle he developed a profound knowledge and connection to the land and a high respect for following the traditional laws of his country. Watson projects his deep knowledge of the lands in vibrant, abstracted form onto canvas. 'His paintings resonate with the authority of his intimate knowledge of place.'2
Regarded as a pioneer of contemporary indigenous art, Watson is recognised both nationally and internationally for his inventive style and unique abstract compositions. His achievements in art were recognised in 2007, when, along with seven other indigenous artists, his work was selected for permanent display in Paris at the Musée du Quai Branly.
1. McGregor, K. and Geissler, M., Yannima Paikarli Tommy Watson, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2010, p. 9
2. ibid., p. 12
ANGIE TAYLOR