Richard Bell
me me Dreaming (with a little help from my friends)
The series Me, me, me dreaming (with a little help from my friends), 2010 is visually whimsical and naïve but is a tribute to the late indigenous artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. While referencing the spaghetti linear style of Kngwarreye’s work and the Arnhem Land Oenpelli artists the work also addresses the selfish ‘me’ spirit and the art market. After Emily Kngwarreye passed away, Richard Bell observed how little the commercial art market cared. Instead, to his horror, he witnessed a money grabbing exercise by art dealers who were more concerned about finding a replacement ‘Emily’ as a result of their financial loss, than showing any concern for the immense sense of loss to Emily’s family and community at the time of her passing. Thereafter, Richard created an ongoing series named ‘Desperately seeking Emily’. While the work appears whimsical, the sentiment is not and exposes the extent to which aboriginal artists have been exploited and are often vulnerable at the hands of commercial art dealers. Shelley Hinton Education consultant, 2010
Artwork Information
2010pastel on wall
Courtesy proppaNow Collective
Installation view at Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, August 2010
Jus' Drawn: The proppaNOW collective
A Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts & NETS Victoria touring exhibition
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