Alfred Lowe

Alfred Lowe is an Arrernte person from Snake Well in the Central Desert, north of Alice Springs. Lowe grew up in Alice Springs and completed his schooling there, moving to Adelaide in 2014, where he later started to make ceramics in early 2021, working out of the APY Studio.
Lowe uses clay/ceramics to explore themes of Country using form and texture informed by his intimate knowledge of the Central Desert landscape. He hand-builds forms, creating organic vessels, and applies underglazes and a range of mark-making to the surface.
Lowe’s interest in fine arts is heavily influenced and inspired by his upbringing. Late in artist Clifford Possum’s career the two were neighbours and Lowe recalls standing on truck tyres to peer over the fence and watch Possum paint for hours at a time. He also lived opposite Araluen Arts and Cultural Precinct and spent a significant amount of time there as a child and teen.
Central Australia is a politically and racially charged region and this has fuelled Lowe’s keen interest in politics and racial justice, in particular how culture and identity are navigated and manifested in modern times. These themes are underlying in Lowe’s work; as an early career artist he is still examining how these influences and experiences are reflected in his artistic practice.