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Lot description
TREVOR NICKOLLS 1949 - 2012 Self Portrait with Boab Tree, 2010-2011 acrylic on canvas 91 x 91 cm bears inscription verso: TN2010-11, stamped AIARTS PROVENANCE The Estate of Trevor Nickolls, South Australia, Cat No. TN-201011 The theme of Nickolls' work from the 1990s onward explored the alienation of the individual in an industrialised landscape, which is the concept of the ‘Self Portrait with Bob Tree'. He coined the catchphrase ‘Dreamtime - Machinetime' to describe the divide between Indigenous and Western cultures. In ‘Machinetime' humankind is trapped by its own inventions; a cramped and hostile technological environment where isolated individuals, in cell-like apartments, plug into their television sets, trying to ward off a sense of loss and anxiety as they become increasingly estranged from each other and the earth. ‘Dreamtime' introduces a relationship to nature that, in keeping with Indigenous beliefs, is the source of spiritual sustenance and cultural continuity underpinning the necessary conditions for a life affirming and dignified human existence. In this particular canvas, these two realities are juxtaposed with contrasting imagery. The boab tree represents spiritual sustenance which morphs into a television, entrapping the Nickolls whilst he looks out at the trappings of the lifeless city outside. A solid grounding in the theory of Western art put Trevor Nickolls in a unique position when, towards the end of his post-graduate degree, he had a chance encounter with Papunya artist Dinny Nolan. The meeting left him feeling that it could be possible to synthesise an art style from techniques gleaned from both traditional Indigenous and Western culture. His appointment as an education officer the following year allowed Nickolls to travel, meeting artists and elders throughout Arnhem Land and seeing traditional rock paintings in situ. © TREVOR NICKOLLS / Copyright Agency, 2026