Susan Peters Nampitjin

Kimiti (Saltwater Country) 2023

Monoprint on paper
60 x 45 cm

About the Work

In recent times, Susan Peters Nampitjin has been experimenting with diverse mediums, including inks on paper, which led to exploring the diversity of inland saltwater lakes, ocean landscapes and marine organisms. This work captures extraordinary bioluminescent cells through a micro– macro approach to articulate the spectacle of electric blue colour released by marine organisms in a dark night. Bioluminescence can be activated by a wave breaking or a splash, and it is mesmerising to witness and invites a quiet, still awareness of the ocean environment and an appreciation of nature.

About the Artist

As a very small child, Susan Peters Nampitjin (b.1963) was removed from her homelands in the Kimberley region by adoption and brought to Gurambilbarra (Townsville). Susan raised her family in Townsville with her husband Phillip in the 1990s and 2000s. Susan lived between Townsville, Rockhampton, and the Kimberleys, immersing herself with family, learning culture, lore and ceremony. After graduating from St Anne’s Anglican Girls School in Mundingburra, Susan made regular visits back to the Kimberley region to reconnect with her family and cultural group. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Community Welfare (James Cook University) and a Diploma in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Visual Arts through the Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE. Susan began exhibiting acrylic paintings at Balgo in 1996 with Warlayirti Artists and later Yarliyil Art Centre (est. 1998) at Halls Creek. She is an accomplished and widely respected artist, with her works collected by regional and national galleries. Susan has been experimenting with the materiality of hessian, natural ochres and plant dyes in her most recent exhibitions at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Umbrella Studios and for her upcoming residency exhibit at NAP Contemporary in Mildura.