Wynne Prize Finalists Charles Jangala Inkamala & Margaret Campbell
left — at Art Gallery of NSW
We are absolutely delighted to announce that both Margaret Campbell and Charles Inkamala have been shortlisted for the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Margaret Campbell, a first-time Wynne finalist, has sculpted a naked woman sitting upright on a stool. Her body is unguarded, her gaze steady. This is Campbell’s self-portrait, but also a general expression of strong First Nations women. A Luritja artist from Warumpi/Papunya, currently working in Mparntwe/Alice Springs at the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists studio, Campbell has been exploring self-portraiture since 2024. She is interested in giving form to the quiet embodied power of women who carry stories, Country and identity with them, no matter where they go.
This work is heavily influenced by Campbell’s drawing practice and her research into depictions of women from varied sources, including coffee table-style art books and magazines. She is particularly interested in how clay as a medium can tell a story of identity that goes beyond appearance. By using material from the land, she infers that this woman quite literally holds Country within her.
Details of work: “Minyma pulka (big woman)”, stoneware with underglaze and sgrafitto, 25.6 × 15.7 x 5.5 cm
Charles Jangala Inkamala has depicted an important cultural site found towards the western part of Tjoritja/MacDonnell Ranges, near Mparntwe/Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. This is his father’s Country and a place where he has spent considerable time learning the land: how the rocks are layered, how the trees grow and how the light shifts and changes colours across the divide. For Inkamala, this site has deep cultural significance as it has been shaped by ancient forces embedded in the landscape that teach Arrernte people law and stories today. He encourages viewers to feel the strength and spirit of this place. Inkamala’s idiosyncratic painting style and approach gravitates towards vibrant colours like ultra-marine blue that give depth to his uniquely constructed landscapes, their compositions bending and moving between perspectives. This is Inkamala’s first time as a finalist in the Wynne Prize.
Details of work: “West side Hermannsburg (Ntaria)”, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 19 x 61 cm
Image: Charles Inkamala and Margaret Campbell standing proudly in front of their works at the Art Gallery of NSW.
