Art Plus Soul

Book excerpt: FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF THE BESTSELLER FIRST AUSTRALIANS COMES the lavishly illustrated art+soul, the companion book to the prime-time ABC TV series by the same name. art+soul is inspired by the flourishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in Australia over the past thirty years, captivating viewers around the world with astonishingly powerful artworks. Hetti Perkins, the distinguished Aboriginal art curator, travels to the startlingly beautiful landscapes of remote Arnhem Land, saltwater country and the desert heartlands of Central Australia, sharing with us the rare privilege of being welcomed into the homes and homelands of many senior artists. This lavishly illustrated book captures the remarkable energy and diversity of Aboriginal art, from the Papunya Tula Artists, the renowned art movement that had its humble beginnings in the early 1970s, to Rover Thomas and his heirs' phenomenal achievements in the East Kimberley. It features the work of contemporary artists Destiny Deacon, Brenda L Croft and Michael Riley, and that of the celebrated Emily Kam Ngwarray, whose paintings revolutionised Australian art. art+soul tells their storiesandmdash;heartfelt, intimate and political. The book includes more than 150 artworks, and photographs by Warwick Thornton, director of the accompanying television series and the award-winning film Samson and Delilah.