Nola Yurnangurnu Campbell, Yunpalara, 2021, Acrylic on Linen, 152 x 225cm
These paintings are a representation of Patjarr, and specifically to the three diverse and significant dreaming sites across Patjarr, in the Gibson Desert, which Nola continually refers to as subject matter in her paintings. This painting references and pays homage to Nola’s experience of the country around Patjarr, and of the significant sites she walked between as a young girl with her family. One of those special places is Mina Mina, a sacred site full of bird life and claypans.
Another referenced in these paintings is Tika Tika. The Tika Tika rockholes are south of Patjarr, and there are eight rockholes there. They were made by Ngirntaka the perenti goanna ancestor who travelled from the west to Warburton. He was digging around hunting for tirnka (sand goanna) for food. He found two tirnka to eat. He stopped one night and kept going in the morning. People were camping at Tika Tika before Patjarr community was developed. Nola lived there as a young girl and walked around with her uncles and aunties, hunting and learning. They often walked from Yalara rockholes to Tika Tika carrying water in a wooden dish called a kilpi.
The third site is Yunpalara (Lake Blair), a large lake bed west of Patjarr. It is more often dry than not, relying on rainfall to fill it. After rain the lake is home to many water birds. The surface cracks as it dries. Ngirntaka (the perentie goanna) travelling from Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route came through this area and made Yunpalara on his way with a large sweep of his tail.
These works are significant as they serve as documentation of three sacred sites in the vast landscape of the Gibson Desert, and the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve, culturally rich and powerful places for the Patjarr people, immortalising and maintaining them in the living memory for many more years to come.
View the online exhibition HERE
When: 24 May - 31 Jul 2024,
