Pitjantjatjara Artist Noli Rictor Wins Top Honors at 2024 NATSIAA for Captivating Spinifex Plains Artwork
Noli Rictor, a Pitjantjatjara artist, has won the prestigious $100,000 prize at the 2024 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) for his remarkable work Kamanti. This recognition highlights Rictor's exceptional artistic talent and his deep connection to the spinifex plains of remote Western Australia, a landscape rich in cultural and spiritual significance for the Spinifex people.
Winning artwork by Noli Rictor - Spinifex Arts Project, 'Kamanti', 2023
Noli Rictor 2024 NATSIAA winnner portrait by Charlie Bliss, MAGNT
The winning artwork, Kamanti, is a nearly three-meter-wide dot painting that vividly portrays the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa, or Two Men Creation Line. This powerful story traces the journey of a father and son water serpent on ceremonial business. The judges praised the piece for its "majestic" composition and noted how Rictor's use of color and technique creates a mesmerizing effect, drawing viewers into its depth and vibrancy.
Rictor, speaking through a translator, expressed his happiness at winning and reflected on the personal significance of the work. "It's my country. It’s the same country that I lived on as a young fella, and I drank from those rock holes, and now everyone’s taking photos of them," he said. Rictor's life story adds further depth to his work. Recognized as the youngest "first contact" Aboriginal person in Australia, his family was located in the Great Victoria Desert in 1986. After relocating to Yakadunya due to nuclear testing at Maralinga, Rictor continued his family's tradition of translating oral histories into visual art, a practice that gained prominence in the 1990s as a way to assert sovereignty over their ancestral lands.
The 2024 NATSIAA, held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, showcased a diverse range of works from 72 finalists, with over half being women. Adam Worrall, the museum's director, highlighted the awards as a celebration of the incredible diversity and depth of artistic expression found across Australia. The works continue to inspire and captivate audiences.
2024 NATSIAA Installation view by Charlie Bliss, MAGNT
Other notable winners included Wakka Wakka, Butchulla, and Gooreng Gooreng artist Shannon Brett, who won the works on paper category for An Australian Landscape 2024. Brett's piece juxtaposes the natural beauty of far-north Queensland with the harsh realities of racism, depicted through a highway barrier defaced with hateful graffiti. Brett hopes her work will prompt reflection on the pain inflicted by racism and foster a desire to restore the natural beauty of the land.
Walmajarri and Bunuba artist Natalie Davey won the multimedia category for her poignant video work River Report 2024, documenting the devastating floods that struck Fitzroy Crossing, WA, in 2023. Her work captures the raw emotion and uncertainty experienced by the local community as they watched the waters rise to unprecedented levels.
The general painting category was won by Mangala artist Lydia Balbal for her unique piece Keeping up with the Balbals, painted on a car bonnet. Wurrandan Marawili took home the bark painting award for Rumbal, the body/the truth, while Obed Namirrkki won the three-dimensional works category for his stringybark creation Kunkurra.
The NATSIAAs, running since 1983, remain a vital platform for showcasing the richness and diversity of First Nations art in Australia. This year's exhibition will be on display at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory until 27 January 2025, offering visitors a chance to experience the profound stories and artistic achievements of the nation's Indigenous communities.