Shimmering Country

The luminous canvases of Shimmering Country, the forthcoming major showcase from the Artists of Ampilatwatja, extend a vibrant legacy of storytelling and kinship. Building on the critical success of Edie and Her Daughters, this new body of work features Joyrene Ngwarraye Holmes, Edie Kemarre Holmes, Kindy Kemarre Ross, and Jessie Ngwarraye Ross. It delves again into the intricate ties between cultural heritage, personal memory, and the resplendent landscapes of Central Australia.

The Artists of Ampilatwatja are renowned for their vivid depictions of flowering plants, expansive blue skies, and verdant plains. Their canvases, alive with intricate dot patterns and radiant colour, offer an overhead perspective of their landscape, a distinctive feature of their work. This aerial view not only maps the physical characteristics of their environment but also charts the cultural and botanical knowledge embedded within it. Plants such as kwenkart (turkey bush), therrpeyt (native fuchsia), and ntang (edible seeds), used for Arreth (strong bush medicine), are woven into the fabric of these paintings, reflecting their millennia-old importance as healing resources.