Zaachariaha Fielding is perhaps best known as the voice of Electric Fields, the pop-tech duo who became the first group to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest. The duo performed their song One mikali (one blood), The lyrics are in English and Yankunytjatjara (an Australian Aboriginal language).
Now Fielding will also have his first gallery show. Albertz Benda has just opened the first solo exhibition of the Aṉangu artist and singer in a new space next door to the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. This solo exhibition will be on view until February 1, 2025, and features eight landscape paintings. It goes hand in hand with the gallery’s presentation at Untitled Art, where they are showing Fielding’s paintings for the first time from 4 to 8 December.
Fielding was born in Port Augusta, Australia, in 1991 and grew up primarily in the Mimli community on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) land. The experience had a significant impact on the artist’s musical and artistic career. His first big break in music came in 2011 when he impressed the judges and audiences with his appearance on The X Factor. His music career took off and in 2015 he formed Electric Fields with keyboardist Michael Ross.
Although he only began painting during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brisbane’s Jan Murphy Gallery has dedicated the artist to a bustling solo exhibition in autumn 2022. His vibrant paintings feature dashes of purple, pink and orange as well as frenetic markings. Make. The works often incorporate symbolism and iconography to honor his Anangu heritage. “Because I have two kinds of knowledge; ancient and modern, culture is purely about connection. That’s my story now. That’s where I sit,” the artist said. Some works, such as 564-24AS (2024), features long lines of cursive text curling across the canvas.
In 2023, Fielding received the $50,000 Wynne Prize, an annual award given to an artist for the best Australian landscape painting or the best figural sculpture by an Australian artist. There have been other solo exhibitions at Hugo Michel Gallery and APY Gallery in Adelaide, Australia.
