The Faith Thompson exhibition opened last night, with the artist herself in attendance. Her first ever solo show and first time in London, the warm, balmy July evening was the perfect backdrop for Faith's rich, colourful landscapes from Ngukurr region (Stone Country), close to the central North West Coast of Australia.
The Ngukurr landscape is characterised by the stark contrast between the wet and dry seasons. The main town is cut off by water for at least three months of the year by the flooding of the tidal Roper river. Today there are at least eight different indigenous language groups living together by the swelling Roper. Faith's work captures the spirit of the land during the dry season, when the billabongs emerge out of the blue, promoting a view of the land that captures Australia in all its beauty.The uniting element in all the paintings is the love of uninhibited colour to depict the landscape and cultural stories of Faith's people. Exhibition continues to 1 August 2009.