Patjarr ngurra pirni | the whole stretch of Patjarr country

For Nola Yurnangurnu Campbell, Nyungawarra Ward Napurrula and Nancy Nyanyarna Jackson, Patjarr, and the surrounding country (what is recognised now as the Pila Nature Reserve, formerly the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve) forms part of their traditional homeland. Patjarr, the smallest community in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, is perhaps the most remote place in Australia. This isolation is turned on its head by these artists, whose mere presence and dedication to living as close as possible to their ancestral land made this tiny outpost of the Kayili Artists art centre possible. The painters from Patjarr have created an astonishing artistic legacy in a place where, on a busy day, 40 people live, and on a quiet day, only a few unhappy dogs can be seen guarding the dusty grid of houses deep in the Gibson Desert.

For these three ladies painting is a deeply personal act of remembrance, and time spent on country and connecting to that country is significant to their artistic practice. It offers a meditation on the historical significance of this country and to their Tjukurpa, which helps to honour the memory and authority of those that came before them in a community that stands at the threshold of contemporary practice and ancient tradition.

“I like being able to paint the country I grew up in, was born in, to keep it alive. It also makes me think about my mother and my family who used to walk this country long before me. The country I paint is their country too. It’s my husband’s, my nguntu (mother’s), ngayuku kaparli (my grandmother’s) and ngayuku tjamu (my grandfather’s).” — Nola Campbell

These artists maintain a strong connection to the bush and often return to Patjarr to paint on Country. During these fortnight long painting camps, the ladies spend most of their time hunting and visiting cultural sites. “Painting occupies the spaces between these activities, especially in the evening after dinner – when often the two ladies will continue to work long into the night, sharing stories and recollections that both inform and reinforce their practice.” — Jacob Gerrard-brown

As senior women of the desert, each holds the cultural authority to depict the Tjukurrpa of her Country. The works in Patjarr ngurra pirni are both aesthetically powerful paintings and visual records of ancestral knowledge, encoded through dotting, brushwork, and rich colours. Within them are maps of journey, sites of transformation, and the memory of kin. Through their continued practice, the songlines of Patjarr remain intact.