Vincent Namatjira The Royal TourMade while in lockdown on the APY Lands in remote Central Australia during the COVID 19 pandemic, the works that populate Namatjiras debut artist book The Royal Tour are as intimate as they are interventionist. Painting directly onto the pages of commemorative royal photo books that he had stumbled across at op shops in Alice Springs, Namatjira whose famed great grandfather Albert Namatjira won the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal in 1953 for his

• Made while in lockdown on the APY Lands in remote Central Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, the works that populate Namatjira’s debut artist book The Royal Tour are as intimate as they are interventionist. Painting directly onto the pages of commemorative royal photo-books that he had stumbled across at op-shops in Alice Springs, Namatjira – whose famed great grandfather Albert Namatjira won the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal in 1953 for his services to art and went on to meet the monarch in 1954 – places himself front-and-centre amidst the pageantry of various historical royal occasions, engagements and tours. Here, he rides shotgun in the Gold State Coach with the Queen, waving the Aboriginal flag out the window; gives a grinning thumbs-up from the Buckingham Palace balcony; and leads Charles and Diana on an outback tour.
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Vincent Namatjira – The Royal Tour

To follow the first edition published in 2020, the expanded second edition of The Royal Tour features recent work from Vincent Namatjira. These paintings, shown on the inside covers, continue the artist's thematic exploration from the original Royal Tour suite.

Despite finding their bearings amidst the pillars of colonialism, power and First Nations identity, Vincent Namatjira’s paintings are almost impossibly light and personal in their candour. Wranglings with race, politics and the empire coalesce with humour, humility and personal history. We grin as much as we grimace.

Made while in lockdown on the APY Lands in remote Central Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, the works that populate Namatjira’s debut artist book The Royal Tour are as intimate as they are interventionist. Painting directly onto the pages of commemorative royal photo-books that he had stumbled across at op-shops in Alice Springs, Namatjira – whose famed great grandfather Albert Namatjira won the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal in 1953 for his services to art and went on to meet the monarch in 1954 – places himself front-and-centre amidst the pageantry of various historical royal occasions, engagements and tours. Here, he rides shotgun in the Gold State Coach with the Queen, waving the Aboriginal flag out the window; gives a grinning thumbs-up from the Buckingham Palace balcony; and leads Charles and Diana on an outback tour.