Describing Country

A collection of new paintings by four artists who, along with their relatives, came out of the desert, walking into Kiwikurra in 1984. This was the first time the Pintupi men and women in this group had encountered Europeans. They are now collectively known as the Pintupi 9 or The Lost Tribe. Their paintings describe their connection to the landscape and belie the cultural shock experienced by these Pintupi people when they encountered Europeans and 1980's Australia for the first time. Prior to this fist contact they led a nomadic lifestyle in the desert, taking care of their country and hunting or collecting food available in the harsh desert environment.
Since this time many of the group were given materials to paint their traditional stories.
Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri and Yakultji Napangati have both had solo shows tour the US with a feature exhibition at studio 94 in New York. All the artists have had work included in the major public galleries in Australia.
Gannon House Gallery has exhibited work by Thomas, Walala and Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri,
and Yukultji Napangarti since 1997 and has been working consistently with Thomas and Warlimpirrnga for the past two years to build up a large collection of their stunning paintings of the Western Desert.
The paintings are aerial views of the contours of the landscape incorporating places of importance for collecting food and water or for the performance of ceremony. Explanations of the paintings are provided by Gannon House Gallery along with photographs of the artists with the paintings.