Scotch College visual arts graduate Benjamin Stack one of 63 artists in The West Australian Pulse 2026 at AGWA

Eighteen-year-old Benjamin Stack’s many experiences of dancing in Alton Walley’s Welcome to Country ceremonies — from West Coast Eagles games to Perth Christmas Pageant — reached a new level at Pulse Fashion Show 2026. Not only was the Scotch College graduate proud of sharing his Noongar culture performing the Nyumbi celebration dance at The Art Gallery of Western Australia event, he was doing so while his own artwork hung on the State gallery wall. Stack is one of 63, 2025 Year 12 visual arts graduates selected for The West Australian Pulse 2026 exhibition, with the annual showcase in its 34th year of providing insight into the minds of WA’s most talented young artists. Stack’s artwork Moort Boodja, created with synthetic polymer paint on canvas, was painted in sections, with each representing one of the 14 individual Noongar language groups of the Noongar Nation in WA. “It’s an amazing feeling to have expressed my culture, not just through the artwork, but also dancing and celebrating doing the Nyumbi,” Wembley Downs-raised, Innaloo-based Stack said. “Moort is your family, your mother and father, and your uncles, your aunties, your brothers, and your sisters, your nieces and nephews. They support you, they love you, provide for you, and teach you what you need to be taught. “Boodja is the land my people have walked on and travelled across for generations and generations. It’s also land that we hunt on, land that we sing on, the land that we tell Dreamtime stories, and land that we’ll share our knowledge on.” Stack said his artwork inspiration stemmed from the desire to include all his family’s stories, and his history, showing how everything is connected by culture, from boorna (animals) such as the yongka (kangaroo), bamba (stingray) and weitj (emu) to the Wagyl, the Dreamtime serpent who lives in the bilya (river). “I could see the big picture, even in the small sections,” Stack said, who has started a ranger cadetship since graduation. “I had this whole image of all this family’s totems, all our 14 language tribes, all together connected as one. “I never did it as competition, art was just a normal thing that I love to do. I didn’t really picture it being put on display. I’ve always been proud of my work, at least in finishing it, but seeing it on display is another level of being proud of it.” Stack said he hoped the artwork inspired all Pulse visitors, especially any Indigenous schoolkids who felt they did not have what it took. “I was the same at a young age, I was just doing it for fun, and now my art is on display in Pulse at The Art Gallery of WA,” he added. “I just want to inspire the community and show that you can make it too.” The West Australian Pulse 2026 is at The Art Gallery of WA until September 13, with visitors encouraged to vote for their favourite work in The West Australian Pulse 2026 People’s Choice Award.

Scotch College visual arts graduate Benjamin Stack one of 63 artists in The West Australian Pulse 2026 at AGWA

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