Robert Fielding (b. 1969) is a contemporary artist of Yankunytjatjara, Western Arrernte, Afghan and Pakistani descent, based in Mimili on the APY Lands. His multidisciplinary practice spans photography, sculpture, printmaking, land-based installations, and cultural materials — interrogating memory, colonial legacy, and the endurance of cultural knowledge systems.

As a son of the Stolen Generations, Fielding’s work navigates the tensions between loss and reclamation, individual memory and collective identity. He often works with salvaged materials — rusted car panels, water tanks, fencing wire, ration tins — transforming them through sandblasting, engraving, and printing into works that speak of survival, strength, and sovereignty. His process is one of excavation: stripping back layers to reveal the stories that endure beneath.

A senior artist and mentor at Mimili Maku Arts, Fielding plays a key role in the Mimili Wati men’s movement, mentoring younger artists and helping strengthen intergenerational cultural leadership on the APY Lands. His practice is grounded in Tjukurpa, ngapartji-ngapartji (reciprocity), and cultural protocol — shaping a distinctly Anangu approach to art and community-led practice.

Fielding has become an internationally recognised voice in conversations around First Nations archives, having coined the concept of a 'living archive' — a system of storykeeping that resists extractive institutions and is accountable to community. In 2025, Fielding presents his solo exhibition Tjukurpa | Handle It at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection in Virginia and participates in a cultural exchange with Native American artists and leaders.

Fielding’s work has been exhibited widely across Australia and internationally at Fondation Opale (Switzerland), Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, and Les Rencontres d’Arles (France). His work is held in major public and private collections and continues to shape the future of contemporary art from Central Australia.

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