Dianne Tchumut

Dianne Tchumut is a Marrithiel woman from the Litchfield and Reynolds area of the Northern Territory. Her dreaming is Fire.

In the early 1990s, Dianne was already immersed in art, often painting religious themes. Her work became highly regarded by international scholars, partly due to her Aboriginal Australian take on biblical history.

In 2005 while working at Merrepen Arts in the Daly River Community, Dianne was honoured to have one of her works chosen to appear on the GBP1.12 postal stamp.

In 2007, Dianne graduated from the Batchelor Institute with a Certificate in Visual Arts and Contemporary Craft. She was honoured to have one of her works featured on the booklet for the graduation ceremony.

Dianne artworks cover a range of subject matter including Barramundi Season or Atyalmerr and also subject matter associated with her culture and the country she comes from. Dianne tends to express her stories in monochromatic colours and pales andneutrals.

He Barramundi Season artworks capture the time of the year when it is best for catching the fish, just after the wet season. It is at this time that you see dragonflies on the rivers. Once the dragonflies come out, Aboriginal people know that the fishing will be at its best.

Dianne's artworks are typically very detailed. With close inspection, the viewer will see representations of the dragonflies and also the vegetation around the rivers and micro detail of certain landscape features such as dried and cracked earth seen as the creeks and billabongs dry up. Interestingly, nowhere in the artwork does one see the barramundi itself.

Copyright Kate Owen Gallery September 2020