Rosalind Tjanyari & Priscilla Singer
59 7/8 x 48 1/8 in
Both Rosalind’s mother and grandmother were famous Ngangkari’s (traditional healers) in the western country of the APY Lands, she has many family members in the Amata community. Rosalind spent a life time outdoors with her mother and grandmother travelling to visit family and friends in need of healing. Rosalind's' paintings allude to a healing energy and strive to encompass the desert landscape. Her artworks speak to a deep history of connection to both country and people. Richly coloured, her paintings reference hidden pathways across the lands, and subtly hint at the fluidity of movement and of journeys. Her painterly marks weave colour through the canvas, flickering with an energy and excitement. Priscilla Singer is a senior Pitjantjatjara woman who lives at Indulkana in the APY Lands of SA. She is the eldest of six siblings that include the artist Trish Singer. As well as a painter she is a teacher at the Indulkana School. She describes this painting as being about the family connections that are all important to Anangu (Aboriginal people of the area). In Pitjantjatjara language, the word Ngura is a definition for the physical geography of land and country. However Ngura has a more richly imbedded meaning as a place to which someone belongs; defining where an individual comes from, family connections, skin groups, and language. Paintings of Ngura often portray personal stories and memories of country that is personal to the artist. Iconography of significant elements within the desert landscape such as rock holes, underground springs, mountain and rock formations, and sacred sites are meticulously recorded from memory, and often depicted from an aerial perspective. Iwantja Arts is an artist studio located within the remote Indigenous community of Indulkana, on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Iwantja Arts is an Aboriginal corporation owned and governed by a self elected board of directors. The art centre aims to encourage and support artistic excellence and cultural development within the community, and provides opportunities, career development, and financial independence for practising artists.