Starting next week at the National Gallery: ‘Ngura Puḻka – Epic Country’ is an artist-led project, showcasing major works by senior First Nations artists and collectives from the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, Coober Pedy and Tarntanya/Adelaide, in South Australia. These ambitious works depict Country while celebrating the powerful Tjukurpa (Aṉangu law/cultural stories) that lies within.
Betty Chimney, Yankunytjatjara people, Raylene Walatinna, Yankunytjatjara people, Nganampa Ngura – Our Country 2022, © The artists, Iwantja Arts / APY Art Centre Collective, Image courtesy APY Art Centre Collective
An epic project both in scale and scope, the creation of large-scale paintings reinforces artists’ connection to Country. Through stories and distinctive designs, they continue to strengthen their cultural knowledge, and knowledge of their homelands. Individual artists and women’s and men’s collectives bring their Tjukurpa to life on canvas – sometimes through explosions of colour, sometimes in a muted palette.