Born c1944
Title - Dingo Dreaming, 2004
Size 175cm x 130 cm
Acrylic on Linen
Offered with this work is a Certificate of Authenticity.
Price $4,200 (free shipping)
Sale Price AUD 3,200(free shipping)
William Sandy is a well highly acclaimed artist with an incredible list of Prizes, Exhibitions and Collections to his credit.
He is a wonderful exponent of making art based on ancient traditions respond with a contemporary edge.
The work on offer is very detailed, well balanced, beautifully coloured and extremely attractive. This piece is sizeable, well executed and shows the immense talent of the artist and the reason why his paintings are sought after World Wide. In this painting, we see a depiction of the sacred dreaming set in mythological times of the Dingo men travelling, camping and foraging for food.
The dingo plays a vital role in Aboriginal culture, both past and present. Dreamtime is the spiritual past of the Aboriginal people. There is no one dreaming which is accepted by all aboriginal people as the creation story, and this is recognised by different names and different stories in different areas. In many Dreamtime stories the ancestral beings metamorphosed during the story to become a natural landmark that may still be in existence today. Mountains and rock formations are often said to represent ancestral beings, and their existence is often explained by a Dreamtime story. Dreaming stories also provide a set of rules governing and explaining behaviour and relationships amongst people, animals and with areas of land.
William Sandy was born in the bush in the Ernabella region of South Australia. His father and paternal grandfather were from further to the south in Winkilini country, South Australia. His maternal country heritage is the land to the south of Papunya and Docker River, called Kunapi.
He led a nomadic childhood in all this country, which forms the content of his paintings, along with the regions of Hermannsburg, Areyonga and Haasts Bluff to the north. His main themes are Dingo, Emu, Woman, Green Bean (Puya), Ngapa (Water) and Tingari. He has an in-depth knowledge of his country and is a traditional medicine man.
He has lived with his family at Papunya since 1973. He is married to Violet Nakamarra, sister of International Artist Michael Nelson Jagamarra and they have four children. Violet is also a noted artist.
William commenced painting in 1975 and joined Papunya Tula Artists in the early 1980's. He and Violet are heavily involved in Community Affairs, with William working for the Papunya Council and both he and his wife Health Workers with the Papunya Medical Service.
Amongst his many achievements are a Solo Exhibition in 1990 at the prestigious Gabrielle Pizzi Gallery, Exhibitions with the Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery Melbourne 1994 through to 1998, Jakarta 1992, London 1993, Sydney 1994 through to 1998, Australian Embassy Washington and New York 1999.
In 1985, he won the Northern Territory Art Award (now the Telstra Award). His work was included in the 'Dreamings' show that toured the USA in 1988 - 9, and in the subsequent show of Papunya Tula Artists at the John Weber Gallery in New York.
William has exhibited in Australia and internationally.
His works are held in Australian and international collections including the Kelton Foundation, USA, the Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA, Donald Kahn Collection - University of Virginia, USA, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, NT, Oxford University, England, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, NT, Broken Hill City Art Gallery, Broken Hill, NSW and Wollongong City Art Gallery, Wollongong, NSW.
