By CHRISTIAN MORROW

Born in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Presley is a Marri Ngarr artist currently based on Yugambeh Country in south-east Queensland.

Known for making work that critically recomposes grand narratives and challenging colonial modes of representation and understanding, Presley combines technical precision with conceptual rigour to interrogate the symbolic and material legacies of settler-colonialism.

In Our lifestyle of tranquillity undisturbed, the subject lies peacefully on a precarious edge with dark, reflective waters rippling in the foreground while in the background a large bushfire sparks and stirs.

With its darkly ironic title, the painting deploys all the technical visual language of the Renaissance to deliver an unsettling message in sumptuous form.

“Yes, I wanted a mix of qualities to the painting. I wanted there to be a darkness and an ominous feel to it while at the same time showing light, beauty, serenity and a hopeful quality mixed in. They play altogether, balanced in a way that allows the audience to easily engage with the painting,” Presley said.

MAGNT director Adam Worrall congratulated Presley and other category winners and finalists.

“Ryan’s monumental painting presents a recomposed view of the past. Executed with such technical precision it is a standout work in a year when the quality and diversity of entries was exceptional,” Worrall said.

Telstra group executive Lyndall Stoyles said the awards remained one of Australia’s most significant celebrations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture.

“We’re incredibly proud to support these awards and celebrate the artists whose stories, creativity and vision continue to inspire us all,” she said.
This year’s awards were curated by Dr Shannon Brett, with judging by Julie Gough, Yhonnie Scarce and Warraba Weatherall. Category winners each received $15,000.

Category winners

Telstra Work on Paper Award

Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and KarraJarri artist Jenna Mayilema Lee won for Taking back taken, a series of six danala (dillybags) constructed from maps collected from the British Museum.

She said her work was all about striking back at “The Empire”.

“In the Great Court of the British Museum, visitors are invited to donate money in exchange for a map. [While in London] I chose not to. I quietly gathered them over time, later asking friends and family to take small stacks and carry them back to Australia,” Lee said.

She said the act of “nicking” something back from the British Museum was extremely satisfying.

“To me, it is a deeply funny, deeply satisfying work. At the time I thought it was really cheeky of them to ask the world’s public to buy a map in order to find their way to a display of their own cultural objects,” Lee said.

“This is not theft for theft’s sake, but conceptual restitution. An act that asks: what does it mean to take from an institution built on taking?”

Telstra General Painting Award

Western Arranda artist Vanessa Inkamala received the award for Arrkurla Nukala/Lyaarta Ntema.

The title translates as ‘before’ and ‘after/today’ and reflects changes in how she has experienced her homeland, Tjoritja (West MacDonnell Ranges), over her lifetime.

“I put these words on the signs to show how the way I visit my homeland has changed over my lifetime,” she said.

Born at Ntaria (Hermannsburg), Inkamala comes from one of Central Australia’s best-known artistic families. She is the great-niece of Albert Namatjira and the niece of the late Ivy Pareroultja.

Judges described the work as “a compellingly multi-layered journey across time and Country”, saying it honoured the creative legacy of earlier generations while embracing contemporary technologies.

Telstra Bark Painting Award

Yolŋu artist Barayuwa Munuŋgurr won this important award for his work The hidden reef at Yarrinya.

The painting tells the story of Mirinyuŋu, the whale ancestor of his mother’s Munyuku clan, whose death served as a warning about greed and the importance of kinship obligations.

Within the intricate design are the whale’s bones, limbs and the stone knives discarded by the killers in shame after coming to understand the gravity of their act. Those knives became the dangerous reef known as Garapana.

“The bounty of a whale can become dangerous if people lose the discipline to control consumption,” Munuŋgurr said.

Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award

Napuwarri Marawili won for Djambatj – Deadly hunter, a sculpture representing Gany’tjurr, the reef heron totem of the Maḏarrpa clan.

The work draws on sacred song, ceremony and the tidal rhythms of Grindall Bay (Yathikpa), reflecting the hunting techniques shared by both Gany’tjurr and Yolŋu saltwater hunters.

The hunters mirror the strategy of this bird as it crouches and creeps forward as the small rippling waves enter the shallows. The foam obscures the view of the prey. The hunter stands up as the water calms and recedes, then spears down to fix the fish with its beak.

Telstra Emerging Artist Award

Guruwuy Murrinyina received the award for her work Prismatic arc.

Depicting the Galpu clan miny’tji (sacred clan design), it represents rainbows, lightning and the power of Wititj, the rainbow serpent.

“The sun shining against the snake’s scales forms a prism of light like a rainbow,” she said.

“The lightning comes when they strike their tongue and the thunder is the sound they make as they move across the ground.”

Telstra Multimedia Award

Tiwi artist, cultural leader and digital media practitioner Colin Heenan-Puruntatameri won for Ngirramini Ngini Amparruwu (The story of the widow).

Created at Milikapiti on Melville Island, the multimedia work combines a chant composed by his mother, R. Puruntatameri, with the traditional widow dance, creating a contemporary audio-visual work celebrating the performative foundations of Tiwi culture.

The 2026 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards exhibition continues at MAGNT until January 24, 2027.