AustLit

'The vibrant and ethereal paintings created by elderly Ngaanyatjarra artists enable them to travel back to Country despite residing in an aged-care facility. This is the focus of Wanarn Painters of Place and Time, an insightful interdisciplinary collaboration by art historian David Brooks and anthropologist Darren Jorgensen, whose long association with the Ngaanyatjarra people in the Western Desert is reflected in their familiarity with the artists’ life stories and knowledge of Country. Wanarn community, in far Western Australia near the border with the Northern Territory and South Australia, is situated on an old Ngaanyatjarra campground close to the dreaming track of the Kungkarrangkalpa Tjukurrpa or Seven Sisters Dreaming. Wanarn’s aged-care facility accommodates residents from Docker River, Warburton and Warakurna. Among the various activities provided to residents is a weekly painting program conducted by the nearby Warakurna Arts centre. In this fascinating volume, Brooks and Jorgensen argue that the enigmatic paintings produced by elders in these classes are an expression of ‘tjukurrpa-thinking in action’. ' (Introduction)