Shirley Macnamara

Australian sculptor (born 1949)

Shirley Macnamara
Born	1949
Known for	Sculpture, Painting

Shirley Anne Macnamara (born 1949) is an Australian Indigenous artist from the Indjilanji/Alyewarre language group of North West Queensland best known for her woven spinifex sculptures.

Early life and education

Macnamara grew up on a cattle station near Camooweal, Queensland, where her family worked. She began her education at Camooweal State School.^[1] From 1989 she attended Australian Flying Arts School workshops in Queensland, working in watercolour.^[1] She also worked with mixed media, installation and sculpture before turning to weaving local spinifex to create organic forms.^[1]

Work

Using the abundant spinifex grass in her people's country in northwest Queensland her weavings reflect the environment, intertwining the landscape with her personal and ancestral stories.^[2]

Exhibitions, collections, awards

Solo exhibitions

'Dyinala, Nganinya', Queensland Art Gallery (21 September 2019 – 1 March 2020)^[3]^[4]
'Layered Threads', University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane (18 August – 24 November 2018)^[5]
'Maardi Butala', Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne (14–25 March 2017)^[6]
'Race against time', Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne (14 October – 7 November 2014)^[7]

Group exhibitions

15 Artists, Redcliffe Art Gallery, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Queensland, 2019^[8]
7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (8 December 2012 – 14 April 2013).^[9]

Public collections

Campbelltown Arts Centre^[10]
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra^[11]
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Awards

2017 Wandjuk Markira Memorial Three-Dimensional Award, 34th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards

References

^ ^a ^b ^c The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture. Oxford University Press. 2000. p. 633. ISBN 0195506499.
^ Blake, Rebecca. "Shirley Macnamara". Artonview. 99 Spring 2019: 19.
^ "SHIRLEY MACNAMARA DYINALA, NGANINYA". QAGOMA What's On. QAGOMA. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ Shirley Macnamara: Dyinala, Nganinya. Brisbane, Qld.: QAGOMA. 2019. ISBN 9781921503979.
^ Helmrich, Michele (7 September 2018). "Shirley Macnamara: Layered threads". Past Exhibitions 2018. UQ Art Museum. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "SHIRLEY MACNAMARA: MAARDI BUTALA 2017". Previous Exhibitions. Alcaston Gallery. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "SHIRLEY MACNAMARA - RACE AGAINST TIME". Past Exhibitions. Alcaston Gallery. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "15 Artists 2019". Moreton Bay Regional Galleries & Museums. Moreton Bay Regional Galleries & Museums. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "APT7". Past Exhibitions. QAGOMA. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "Artist List" (PDF). Collection. Campbelltown Arts Centre. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "Shirley Macnamara". Collection Search. National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 8 March 2020.