Elton Wirri

The son of Doris Abbott and Kevin Wirri. Elton came to the art centre with his parents and showed a keen interest to paint watercolours like his father. As well as pursuing his interest in watercolour painting Elton is also developing his skills in acrylic painting and has produced a number of works in this medium, including portraits combined with landscape. His interest have extended to theatre and he performed in a sell-out production of the show ‘Ngapartji Ngapartji’ at the Melbourne International Arts Festival in October 2005. This play also finished a sell-out week in Melbourne 2006 and at the Sydney Opera House. A painting by Elton was selected for reproduction in the 2005 Jukurrpa Diary, IAD Press, Alice Springs, NT. Elton Wirri’s first solo exhibition, was opened on 30 June 2007 in Sydney with twenty of Elton’s watercolour paintings depicting the Central Desert landscape on display. In 2007 he was commissioned to produce artwork as cultural interpretation material for the Heritage Conservation Services of the NT Government Department of Natural Resources, Environment and The Arts. His painting of the Hermansburg Heritage precinct will be featured on signage, a printed guide and website.

A note from 2005: “Right from the start he showed much skill, and with some instruction from his father is now at the tender age of fifteen producing some lovely paintings. He is so keen to paint that if he has no paperboard in front of him he’ll paint on bits of paper or the table top!”