"His painting thus becomes a library of the territory, a partition of the chromatic elements that compose it, by making visible a part of the invisible.
The artist shares with generosity without saying everything, preserving the more sensitive areas with modesty like these rocky blocks that he cannot name or write to preserve their sacredness.
His lines of colour dissociate, bring together, in turn combine the elements in a subtle juxtaposition, which sublimates the territory in a kind of universal language.
“History may claim to always tell us something new, it is like a kaleidoscope: each turn presents us with a new configuration, and yet it is, to tell the truth, the same elements that always pass before our eyes”, as the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer points out.
Its strips of colours and lights carry the memory of the keys to the territory, like a lexical field, which summarizes and amplifies the immutable elements" Bertrand Estragin, catalogue essay, 2022 'Cornerstone' exhibition, Brussels
Samuel Miller was born in 1966 at Ernabella Mission. When Samuel’s mother passed away, his father’s second wife, Molly Nampitjin Miller, cared for him. Molly is a founding director of Ninuku Arts.
When growing up, Samuel moved between Amata and Pipalyatjara, but he now resides in Kalka with Molly and the rest of her family. A core member of Ninuku Arts, Samuel has painted here daily for over a decade. His canvases depict the traditional iconography of his land, which lies to the east of Pipalyatjara - camps, rockholes, creeks and hills, all immersed in Tjukurpa (Dreaming stories).
Pitjantjatjara
Pukara
23/12/1966