Lindy Brodie and Heather Anderson Shine in Twin Solo Exhibitions

March 22, 2022

Lindy Brodie and Heather Anderson will exhibit in respective solo exhibitions at Brisbane’s Suzanne O’Connell Gallery.

It is fitting that the pair, who share a grandmother and grew up together on Alroy Downs Station, will each see their first solo exhibitions open within a week of one another.

Heather Anderson with her cousin Lindy Brodie

Heather Anderson and Lindy Brodie with a collaborative artwork

Two of Tennant Creek’s most prolific artists, Lindy and Heather have both drawn on their early experiences at Alroy Downs station, with this forming the catalyst for Heather Anderson’s exhibition, Station Scenes.

"I grew up at Alroy Downs Station. My father was a Bore Runner. He took me out with him while he checked on the bores. The station was always busy, lots of bullockies and goanna and kangaroo, bush turkey, everything! I paint the bores to share and remember my land, my culture."

Alroy Downs, by Heather Anderson

Depictions of the landscape around her childhood home of Alroy Downs Station have come to constitute a large part of Heather's oeuvre as she reflects on fond childhood memories. Through these station paintings Heather has established a number of recurring motifs such as the windmill and bore, work cars, bullockies and the "cheeky roo" that peers out from behind anthills.

A prolific artist, Heather’s palette is influenced by seasonal changes, which she pays close attention to in her depictions of the daily rituals of station life. Heather’s playful palette and distorted approach to perspective are a nod to the naïve style and the significant influence of Lindy, her older cousin. View the exhibition at Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane or online here.

Cowboys at Alroy Downs by Heather Anderson

Like Heather, Lindy’s work has been significantly influenced by her childhood on Alroy Downs Station, often exploring human interventions on Country. In her most recent series Lindy brings elements of Country into the domestic space, with her exhibition of Still Lifes.

"When I go out bush, to hunt and visit country I always look for the bush flowers. I collect these and bring them home, so I can have some of the outside, inside, in the kitchen or the lounge room. My Flower Paintings show the bush flowers inside, like some whitefella paintings I’ve seen."

Flower Painting by Lindy Brodie

Lindy Brodie’s practice has long involved collecting bush medicine and tuckers for detailed studies. Her love of bush flowers and her interest in art history inspired her to incorporate these studies into domestic scenes in what she dubs Flower Paintings.

With her Flower Paintings, Lindy portrays elements of the desert landscape within her home. Lindy’s process involves painting compositions of bush flowers in vases or mugs among the trappings of daily life.

Flower Painting by Lindy Brodie

In adopting the genre of Still Life painting to depict bush medicine and flowers, Lindy portrays elements of Indigenous knowledge within the paradigm of Western visual culture. View the exhibition at Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane or online here.

Lindy’s life and work and her close relationship with Heather was the subject of a Barkly Regional Arts produced documentary, Lindy Brodie: My Art, My Culture. Watch below:

My Art, My Culture: Lindy Brodie from Barkly Regional Arts on Vimeo.