Baliran
(The Silence of Night)
This artwork is a representation of my home (Ngurambang) by the Marrambidya Bula (Murrumbidgee River) at night (gurruway). The mighty Murrumbidgee flows through the centre of the piece, weaving his way through the landscape, strong yet comforting.
There are three meeting places represented within the work – my childhood home; my home where I raise my family today; and the town of Wagga Wagga, nestled alongside the river. From left to right, through each of these meeting places, are journey lines that symbolise the ever-present and continuing life we live, both here on Earth and beyond.
Above these meeting places are the stars, familiar and certain, holding my ancestors so they are able to watch and guide from above. At the bottom of the work are representations of Mother Earth, connecting us to the land on which we live and care for.
I have represented my home at night within this artwork to show the comfort and familiarity of place. When one can rest easily at night, they are home.
When Wiradjuri artist Amanda Hinkelmann started painting back in 2019, she
experimented with bold, contrasting colours and explored ways to share her First
Nations history and culture. As her skills developed and she transitioned from her
role as school principal to full-time painting, Amanda’s palette became more refined,
and her unique symbolism and pattern work started shining through.
Modern, textural, feminine, deeply meaningful and emotive, Amanda’s abstract
paintings are inspired by strong connections – to her loved ones, to Mother Earth
and to her ancestral home on Wiradjuri Country, in the Riverina region of New South
Wales. A trained dancer, Amanda respects her innate creativity and responds to the
fierce power of nature, the changing seasons and the beauty of birds and flowering
gums.
Amanda’s paintings are instantly recognisable due to the detailed white dot work that
forms the final layer on each piece and adds definition to the storytelling elements
contained within. Creating large-scale works on canvas, she combines neutral and
earthy hues and aims to convey messages from nature. Every painting subtly
provokes thought on the meaning of being deeply connected to Country.
In 2021, Amanda held solo exhibitions at R2Designs in Melbourne and Jumbled
Online, in the Central NSW town of Orange. In November 2022 she will be exhibiting
for the second time at Jumbled Online, followed by a December show at Uralla
Gallery, in the Northern Tablelands of NSW.
Looking ahead, Amanda is planning to undertake some formal art education in 2023.
In the meantime, she will be working on paintings based on her travels throughout
Australia and her own drone photography, the aim being to replicate the Earth’s
details from an overhead perspective. As always, nature will be guiding Amanda’s
hand.
