Vincent Namatjira OAM (born 14 June 1983) is an Aboriginal Australian artist living in Indulkana, in the APY lands in South Australia.
After his mother, Jillian, died in 1991, Vincent and his sister were removed by the state and sent to foster homes in Perth, Western Australia, thousands of kilometres away.
[5] In 2011, he was inspired to take up painting by Natasha and her father, Kunmanara (Jimmy) Pompey,[5][6][7] both artists based at Iwantja Arts, an Aboriginal-owned and -operated centre in Indulkana.
[2][8] He and his family visited Ntaria, where they studied his aunt, the late Elaine Namatjira (cited as Eileen), a leader of the Hermannsburg Potters, create artworks about their country.
[5] The series, which comprises 13 paintings, from "Being Initiated in the Bush" to "Albert Namatjira in Prison" to "Dies in Hospital, Broken Heart",[8] is held by QAGOMA, and is available to view online.
[8] His entry for the 2016 TarraWarra Biennial, Endless circulation, comprised a series of portraits of the seven prime ministers who had been in power in Australia during his lifetime until that point.
The portraits include Blair Parry-Okeden, Gina Rinehart, Harry Triguboff, Frank Lowy, Anthony Pratt, James Packer and John Gandel.
[6] In 2018 he painted Legends, a series of portraits of Aboriginal men which included singer Archie Roach, artist Gordon Bennett, land rights campaigner Eddie Mabo, and Australian Football League player Nicky Winmar, who famously lifted his football jersey and pointed at his skin when he was being racially vilified.
The faces include those of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, former prime minister Julia Gillard, footballer and anti-racism campaigner Adam Goodes, as well as, once again, Albert Namatjira and Eddie Mabo.
It was painted in acrylic on linen, with Goodes depicted as "a proud Aboriginal man who stands strong for his people".
They often depict famous and powerful people standing alongside the artist, as if in a publicity shoot, with frequent references to Captain James Cook, the British royal family and contemporary Indigenous life.
[10] Although his portraits resemble caricature, according to the art historian Wes Hill they also have "a level of sophistication that only a colourist, not a satirist, could possess".
[13] The exhibition at ACCA, A Lightness of Spirit is the Measure of Happiness, featured 10 specially commissioned works by Aboriginal artists of south-east Australia, including Namatjira, Robert Fielding, Yhonnie Scarce, Kaylene Whiskey and others.
A large installation called Australia in Colour comprises three rows of paintings each, of a diverse assortment of people including Ned Kelly, Jimi Hendrix, Scott Morrison, Julia Gillard, Gina Rinehart, Eddie Koiki Mabo, and Cathy Freeman, with his self-portrait in the centre.
[33] It was reported in May 2024 that mining billionaire Gina Rinehart objected to her portrait in the multi-portrait installation, and demanded that the painting be removed from display.
[34] The request originated with a group of 20 elite swimmers, led by Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers and Kevin Hasemann, head of Swimming Queensland, who wrote to NGA director Nick Mitzevich, complaining about two of the many portraits of Rinehart created by Namatjira and hanging in the NGA.
[26] On 8 June 2020, Namatjira was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "in recognition of his service to Indigenous visual arts and the community", in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours.