"Alongside [Neil Tomkins' and Kitty Napanangka Simon'] distinctively bold and unapologetic use of colour, a major shared theme is the artists' process of layering perception and memory, expressing their view of landscape as an act of recognition and blending."
In the crafting of his work, Tomkins uses memory in a similar way, folding it into the fabric of his works and creating a truer image of the artist's perceived reality. A majority of works in this exhibition spawn from photo composites, fractured and instinctively arranged before being sewn together by brushstroke.
The project was made up of three acts, beginning with a late June workshop at Warnayaka Arts in Lajamanu that led to Art Leven [formerly Cooee Art]'s inaugural exhibition, country x Country, curated by Gadigal artist Konstantina. The project now concludes at Sydney Contemporary, with new works by Neil Ernest Tomkins, Kitty Napanangka Simon, and Konstantina. This final suite of works acts as a reflection on the project, with memory seeping into the fabric of the artists' everyday, effecting an ongoing influence on perception as a whole.
