Spinifex Hill artists bring Unwavering to Perth gallery

An exhibition of new works by 14 artists from Spinifex Hill Studio in South Hedland will open at FORM Gallery in Perth in July.

Titled Unwavering, the show is curated by Yolngu artist and printmaker Ruby Djikarra Alderton and runs from July 9 – August 30.

Key Points

Unwavering brings together works by artists from the Pilbara and is presented as a celebration of the unwavering strength and fierceness of Aboriginal women living in the region. The exhibition is Ruby Djikarra Alderton’s first major curatorial undertaking and will open on the evening of Thursday, 9 July 2026 at FORM Gallery in Perth.

The exhibition features works by fourteen artists from Spinifex Hill Studio in South Hedland. According to the curatorial framing, the works are presented as acts of grace, rather than documents of hardship, centring a gentle and restorative approach to expression and healing. The exhibition runs through 30 August 2026.

“Although our lives may be riddled with heaviness, pain, trauma, grief, we as artists have chosen to express and continue to heal ourselves from these harsh realities with a gentle, tender, soft palette,” Ruby Djikarra Alderton, Yolngu artist and printmaker, said.

Participating artists

The exhibition showcases works by the following Spinifex Hill Studio artists:

• Doreen Chapman
• Gloria
• Lena Willalang
• Rekeshia Goodwin
• Gladys Kuru Bidu
• Denise Solly
• Ruby Djikarra Alderton
• Raylene Button Gordon
• Maywokka (Mayiwalku) Chapman
• Mulyatjinki (Muljadingi) Marney
• Lorna Dawson
• Crystal Gardiner
• Daisy Tinker
• Maggie Green

The collective presentation foregrounds a shared ethos that, as described by the curator, emphasises healing through colour and softness. While grounded in individual practices, the works collectively underscore themes of resilience and community affirmed by the artists’ connection to Spinifex Hill Studio in South Hedland.

Curator’s lineage and practice

Unwavering marks a significant step in Ruby Djikarra Alderton’s career as her first major curatorial project. Ruby is the youngest daughter of the late Banduk Marika OAM, who is noted as one of Australia’s most celebrated Aboriginal artists and a Senior NT Australian of the Year. She is the granddaughter of Mawalan Marika, the Rirratjingu leader and artist who was a principal signatory of the 1963 Yirrkala Bark Petitions. Those petitions were the first traditional documents recognised by the Commonwealth Parliament and are described as a foundational moment in Australian land rights history.

Ruby’s practice spans painting, printmaking, and film, and she works with Rirratjingu clan designs inherited through her mother’s lineage. Her early film work Mayang (2011), made as a teenager, is held in the QAGOMA collection. She was a finalist in the Telstra NATSIAA and Print Council Awards at 18, reflecting recognition of her work at an early career stage.

Spinifex Hill Studio’s role

Spinifex Hill Studio is described as the only Aboriginal art collective in the Hedland area and one of the most significant art centres in Western Australia. The studio is home to more than 100 artists from eight language groups on Kariyarra Country and was founded in 2008 as a community-led initiative.

Art centres like Spinifex Hill Studio are characterised as central to the lives of Aboriginal and Islander communities, serving as places of belonging, safe spaces for self-expression, environments for healing, and sites for generational exchange and learning. The studio’s artists have been finalists and winners in the Telstra NATSIAA, the Paddington Art Prize, the Cossack Art Awards, and the Hedland Art Awards. Their works are held in national and international collections.

By bringing works from South Hedland to FORM Gallery in Perth, Unwavering situates the studio’s artists on a broader stage while retaining the exhibition’s focus on Aboriginal women’s strength in the Pilbara. The project aligns the studio’s community-centred role with a curatorial approach that highlights resilience through artistic practice.

• Unwavering opens on the evening of Thursday, 9 July 2026, and continues through 30 August 2026 at FORM Gallery in Perth.