Title
Bird with wings
2015
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Alice Springs
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Northern Territory
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Australia
- Cultural origin
- Luritja/Central Desert region
- Date
- 2015
- Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- wool, cotton and feathers
- Dimensions
- 44.0 x 33.5 x 13.0 cm 51.0 x 33.5 x 13.0 cm including stand
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Mollie Gowing Acquisition Fund for Contemporary Aboriginal Art 2015
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 250.2015
- Copyright
- © Rhonda Sharpe, courtesy Yarrenyty Arltere Artists
- Artist information
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Rhonda Sharpe
Works in the collection
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About
Rhonda Sharpe is renowned for her paintings that capture the vibrancy of her experience living in Larrapinta Valley. However in recent years, Sharpe has attracted wide acclaim for her soft whimsical sculptures and print making. As Rhonda’s confidence as an artist grows so too does her subject matter. Rhonda excels at producing characters that reflect her life and experiences of living in Alice Springs, such as birds, human figures, self portraits and even extraterrestrial beings.
She works with the art centre Yarrenyty Arltere, which is located in Larapinta Valley Town Camp in Alice Springs, the centre works with Western Arrernte and Luritja artists. Central to the practice of the artists working at the centre is soft sculptures, which are crafted from recycled woollen blankets dyed with local plants and rusted pieces of metal. The blankets are then used as the base material to create unique and innovative sculptures. With the addition of embellished details such as feathers, beads and intricate stitching, these sculptures transcend the modest materials that they are created with.
The diversity of practice within the Yarrenyty Arltere art centre includes animation and short films. Using this cinematic awareness, Sharpe sculpts her characters with an anticipation of movement, 'Bird with wings' 2015 is poised in preparation for flight.
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Places
Where the work was made
Alice Springs
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Exhibition history
Shown in 4 exhibitions
Making art/ making life, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Waterloo, 11 Jul 2015–01 Aug 2015
The Lady and the Unicorn, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 10 Feb 2018–24 Jun 2018
Joy, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 24 Oct 2020–21 Feb 2021
Yiribana Gallery: opening collection display, Art Gallery of New South Wales, North Building, Sydney, 03 Dec 2022–29 May 2023