From ceremony to selfies: New developments in desert figuration

In 2013 'Desert Mob' coincided with the federal election that saw Tony Abbott defeat Kevin Rudd (who had recently deposed Julia Gillard) to become Australia's 28th Prime Minister. Normally the two events would have seemed remote from one another, but there at the annual exhibition of work from desert art centres held in Alice Springs, on a metre-high canvas were Rudd and Gillard flanking Abbott, the latter looking priest-like and pleased with himself in the centre, all three against a backdrop of tall buildings. The work was by Vincent Namatjira of Iwantja Arts. In the 23-year h