Glimmer 1 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 1
Glimmer 1 2020
Glimmer 1Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 1
Glimmer 12020
acrylic on clayboard
30.5 x 40.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 2 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 2
Glimmer 2 2020
Glimmer 2Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 2
Glimmer 22020
acrylic on clayboard
40.5 x 30.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 3 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 3
Glimmer 3 2020
Glimmer 3Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 3
Glimmer 32020
acrylic on clayboard
40.5 x 30.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 4 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 4
Glimmer 4 2020
Glimmer 4Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 4
Glimmer 42020
acrylic on clayboard
30.5 x 40.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 5 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 5
Glimmer 5 2020
Glimmer 5Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 5
Glimmer 52020
oil on clayboard
12.5 x 17.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 1 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 1
Glimmer 1 2020
Glimmer 1Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 1
Glimmer 12020
acrylic on clayboard
30.5 x 40.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 2 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 2
Glimmer 2 2020
Glimmer 2Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 2
Glimmer 22020
acrylic on clayboard
40.5 x 30.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 3 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 3
Glimmer 3 2020
Glimmer 3Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 3
Glimmer 32020
acrylic on clayboard
40.5 x 30.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 4 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 4
Glimmer 4 2020
Glimmer 4Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 4
Glimmer 42020
acrylic on clayboard
30.5 x 40.5 cm
SOLD 
Glimmer 5 Thea Anamara Perkins Thea Anamara Perkins - Glimmer 5
Glimmer 5 2020
Glimmer 5Thea Anamara PerkinsGlimmer 5
Glimmer 52020
oil on clayboard
12.5 x 17.5 cm
SOLD 

When artist Thea Anamara Perkins was thrust into the spotlight in early 2020 with her win in the prestigious Alice Prize, it was almost as though we’d always known her. The winning work, a portrait of her grandfather Charles and aunt Rachel, was immediately recognisable in its depiction of a private moment in an otherwise very public life. But there was also something familiar in the light and focus of the image; the way her painterly style captured the nostalgic glow of our own family albums and the memories they contain.

Perkins routinely delves into her family’s photographic archive for source material, attracted by the hyper-saturated, almost cinematic, glow of old photos, and the melancholia that comes with seeing a moment in time you can no longer access. She is most drawn to snapshots that evoke feelings of comfort and certainty – smiling faces, happy memories. The glimmer, she calls it. Her compositions hone in on this by removing the background noise, reducing the photo to its very essence – a gesture, a colour, or an evocation of place.

There is something deeper in the choice of imagery too; a desire to depict Aboriginal family life as she knows it – connected, secure, and full of unparalleled love. Her portraits are a chance to explore her own identity and memories while reprogramming the narrative around First Nations people more broadly in Australia.

Thea Anamara Perkins lives and works in Sydney, Australia. In 2020 she won The Alice Prize National Contemporary Art Award and the Dreaming Award for Emerging Art at the Australia Council First Nations Arts Awards. A finalist in the 2019 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship and the 2019 Archibald Prize, she was the lead artist on the 2018 restoration of the iconic ‘40000 years’ mural in Redfern, Sydney.

Carrie McCarthy 2020

  • Born 1992
  • Lives and works in Sydney, Australia

EDUCATION

2015

  • University of New South Wales Art and Design, deferred

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2020

  • 'Glimmer', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane

2019

  • 'Anamara', Our Neon Foe, Sydney

2018

  • 'History House', Firstdraft Gallery, Sydney

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2020

  • 'From My Window:Together In Art', Art Gallery of New South Wales
  • 'My Imagination', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane

2019

  • 'TARNANTHI', Art Gallery of South Australia
  • 'The Waves', Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney

AWARDS

2020

  • Winner, The 41st Alice Prize National Contemporary Art Award, Araluen Arts Centre
  • Winner, Dreaming Award for Emerging Artist, Australia Council First Nations Arts Awards

2019

  • Finalist, Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship
  • Finalist, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery Of New South Wales

PROJECTS

2020

  • Assisted the artists at Tangentyere Art Centre in Alice Springs

2019

  • Assisted the artists at Tangentyere Art Centre in Alice Springs. Including working as an artist’s assistant on the animations by Sally Mulda and Betty Conway
  • Produced artwork for the Centre For Deep Reading to accompany the readings for their winter retreat

2018

  • Created the artwork for the Court of Conscience law journal dealing with legal issues in the Redfern community
  • Lead artist participating in the restoration of the iconic ‘40000 years’ mural in Redfern

2017

  • Created artwork for an interactive SBS documentary ‘Missing’ that aired in 2019
  • Assisted on Alair Pambegan’s show ‘Walkaln-aw’ at Firstdraft Gallery

2015

  • Runner and facilitator for the Arrernte Aboriginal Womens’ Camp in Alice Springs
  • Runner for the Babana Men’s Group fundraiser auction at Carriageworks

2014

  • Workshop assistant and volunteer at the Black Arts Markets for Corroboree Sydney Festival

2013

  • Workshop assistant for ‘Welcome to Redfern’ mural by Reko Rennie
  • Public art mural ‘Be Deadly’ by Tony Albert at Jarjum College

COLLECTIONS

  • Art Gallery of South Australia
  • Araluen Art and Cultural Precinct, Alice Springs
  • Queensland Children's Hospital
  • Slattery Sydney Collection, curated by Barbara Flynn

17 September 2020 – 7 October 2020
Thea Anamara Perkins ‘Glimmer’

20 February 2020 – 14 March 2020
My Imagination - The Next Generation

THEA ANAMARA PERKINS 'GLIMMER' EXHIBITION