VIEWING ROOM

ALICIA BILYARA BENNETT
'BARKINDJI NGUNNGKUAPA'

Jerico Contemporary is delighted to present our first exhibition for the year and welcome Alicia Bilyara Bennett to the gallery with her debut solo show ‘Barkindji Ngunngkuapa’. The exhibition opened on Thursday 3rd February 2022 and continue through to Saturday 26th February 2022.

Bennett is a descendant of the Barkindji people of the Darling River basin in Far West New South Wales, Australia. 'Barkindji Ngunngkuapa' (meaning Barkindji woman) is an emotive ode to the artist’s familial roots. Drawing on deeply personal relationships and shared knowledge passed down to her by significant figures from her maternal and paternal lines, as well as her learnings of the critically endangered Paakantyi/Barkindji language, Bennett reveals a sensitive collection of paintings that foster connection, reconciliation and renewal.

As the daughter of late renowned Indigenous painter and emu egg carver Richard “Crunchie” Bennett (Nuddij) and artist Amanda Farquharson, painting has acted as a creative outlet for Bennett since she was a child. “With my father passing away last year, I guess inspired me to pick up the paintbrush and start again,” explains Bennett, “For grief, for healing, it’s such a mediative way of storytelling and processing those emotions.”

Bringing together a collection of 14 works on birch and pine, each painting depicts delicate line work patterns that negotiate themes of permanence and impermanence. Guided by the artist’s hand, Bennett begins every line with a set intention, then works backwards from the other side of the board to meet the first mark. Sometimes they follow the grain of the wood and other times work together in groups of 3 to represent the artist and her twin sisters — a motif also practiced by her father. Through this process, the artist creates a network of flowing mark makings that speak to her Barkindji heritage and the river that connects her to Country.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Alicia Bilyara Bennett was born in 1995 on Gadigal Land of the Eora Nation (Paddington), Australia. ‘Barkindji ngunngkuapa’ marks the artist’s debut exhibition and first with Jerico Contemporary.