Anthony Flanders

Anthony is one of several inmates whose artworks have been purchased by the Department of Corrective Services.

Untitled
Acrylic on canvas 1997

Art has always been a vital part of Anthony Flanders’ cultural background. The Dhungutti man started painting at 17, producing accomplished traditional-style Aboriginal dot paintings and was heavily influenced by his uncle, Robert Campbell Jnr, a prominent Indigenous artist, whose work is held by the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and State galleries.

The composition of Untitled, is based on an aerial depiction of settlements on either side of the Macleay River at Kempsey, the NSW north coast—Anthony's birthplace. The rich red and brown colours mimic the traditional ochres used to represent country. As he explained in an artist statement: “The colours that I like to use relate to the earth. We belong to the earth; we do not own the land.”

Much of Untitled was painted by Anthony his cell. Viewing his painting in the art room for the first time, he was surprised to see an optical effect he hadn’t been aware of before. A lively green cast was formed by the adjacent grey and ochre dots.

Anthony’s earlier work often referenced animal totems and narrative scenes. As his practice developed, his method of representation became increasingly minimal, bold, and large in scale.

Anthony’s artwork was included in the exhibition Inmate Art from Long Bay at NSW Parliament House in 1997. Three of Anthony’s paintings were in a major exhibition In Another World,’ Art by Indigenous Inmates in NSW Correctional Centres, at the Moree Plains Gallery, in 1998. The exhibition was opened by Indigenous art curator Djon Mundine OAM. Untitled, 1997,

Anthony also designed one of the large fabric banners that were specially created for the Inmate Reception Room at Long Bay in 1995.

Anthony regularly exhibited and sold his work in the Boom Gate Gallery at the Long Bay Complex. Two of Anthony’s paintings were purchased by the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council in 1999.