REMEMBER THEM: AN EXHIBITION FROM JOHN PRINCE SIDDON : FEATURING ANNETTE LORMADA & DOROTHY FORREST

OFFICAL OPENING SUNDAY 15 AUGUST @ 1-3 PM

John Prince Siddon is a Walmajarri man from Fitzroy Crossing in the West Kimberley. He has exploded on to the contemporary art scene in recent years with his surrealist and psychedelic approach to painting and storytelling. His recent exhibition as part of the Perth Festival was touted as a standout and garnered press far and wide, and it is easy to see why. The viewer is immediately arrested by his use of colour, and while much of the iconography may be familiar, the eclectic application of form and perspective drives a unique level of engagement with each artwork. What may seem like an image of an animal or a series of waterholes, on closer inspection becomes a comment on anything from popular culture, to racism, or climate change. Siddon's uses a combination of Australian stories and world themes, mixed with imagery from outback stations and traditional Walmajarri mythology, to bring the things we face as a community into sharp focus.

Prince has an original and dynamic approach to his cultural traditions and his art practice. His narrative focused artwork is synonymous with the traditional Kimberley craft of boab nut carving. Prince transfers his narratives onto a multitude of materials from cow skins, to coolamons, to canvases, to bullock skulls. Bulls skulls are an identifiable symbol of the outback and Kimberley life and Siddon regularly creates artworks on them using the same bold colour, imagery and style that is seen on his paintings on canvas. Short St Gallery is excited to bring you Remember Them, in which Prince focuses on people, animals, land and events that are endangered or no longer with us, commenting on everything from Slim Dusty through to the COVID pandemic. He is supported in this show by the exuberant works of Dorothy Forrest and Annette Lormada.