Ken Searle
Papunya - paintings and Drawings
About This Exhibition
From 1998 to 2001 Ken Searle worked as a consultant at the school at Papunya. During this time he made a dozen trips to the community, each one of three to four weeks. His brief was to support Anangu staff in the production of materials for the locally-based curriculum which Papunya School was developing. Ken provided the models whereby the team of Anangu teachers and elders could get their knowledge into formats that could be used in the classroom.
In his free time at Papunya, Ken would draw and paint around the community. Kids would always gather around, and often adults would come and have a look. It was important that people saw and approved the images. On weekends, Ken would get out to paint the surrounding ngurra (country). When he brought the work back to show people, they put names and stories to the puli (hills) and places he had painted.
Ken Searle sees this exhibition of Papunya: Paintings and Drawings as an extension of his urban paintings.