Anne Dixon

Detailed biography

Anne was born in Alice Springs in July 1965 and passed away in 2019. Her father’s country is Pipalyatjara, a community of Fregon South Australia, where her family lives today. Her mother, Wipana Jimmy is from Nyapari, South Australia and her Tjukurrpa is the Makiri (honey ant) of that region.

Aft􏰀er Anne was born, her mother and her travelled on the train to Pukatja (Ernabella), South Australia where she went to school, later living in Fregon. A􏰀er mee􏰁ng her Husband Simon Dixon in 1984, they moved to Watarru, South Australia together. There they raised their three children, Elain, Darren and Noreen along side Anne’s sisters and their children. A􏰀er that they lived at Nypapari before finally moving to Haasts Bluff in 1999. It was in Haasts Bluff that Anne first started pain􏰁ng with her mother in law, Alice Nampitjinpa Dixon in the Ikuntji Women’s and Art Centre. Anne has been pain􏰁ng along side Alice and the other ar􏰁sts at the art centre ever since. When Ann was at the art centre she would sit and learns skills from her mother-in-law and the other senior women. Anne painted the Tjukurrpa from her own country at Watarru, far south of Haasts Bluff. This dreaming and country was passed down to her from her grandmother on her mother’s side. Anne’s mother and sister’s pain􏰁ngs are all of that same dreaming. Anne’s pain􏰁ngs usually depict fire dreaming and relate to dancing and singing ceremonies. Anne would spent her 􏰁me pain􏰁ng whenever she could, o􏰀en experimen􏰁ng with bold colour combinations and expressive and textured paint applicati􏰁on.

Anne also worked as a weaver and has parti􏰁cipated in Watarru collaborati􏰁ve artworks, some of which are at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She used tjanpi (dried na􏰁ve grass) when she worked with Tjanpi Desert Weavers and Ikuntji Ar􏰁sts. Anne was inspired to learn the Tjanpi coiled basketry technique a􏰀er watching her mother, Wipana Jimmy, and Aunty Tinpulya Mervin, prac􏰁ce this art form. Anne’s strong sculptural sensibility can be seen in her unique baskets and animal sculptures. Similarly to her painti􏰁ng style, Anne always enjoyed working on large scale pieces, experimen􏰁ting with new styles and techniques.

Selected Recent Group Exhibitions

2021 Land Drawing – Land of Drawing, IDAIA, Le Havre, France
2021 Painting Now – Peindre aujourd’hui en terres aborigènes, IDAIA, Le Havre, France
2019 Ravenswood Australian Womens Art Prize Finalist and Exhibition, Sydney NSW
2019 Womens Show, Yaama Ganu Gallery, Moree NSW
2019 PARRTJIMA – A Festival in Light, Alice Springs, NT.

Selected Collections:

>> CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SELECTION OF ARTWORKS

Image: Anne Dixon – Artist Portrait – Courtesy Ikuntji Artists – Photo Tobias Titz