Salt Lake Country

Salt Lakes are major landmarks of inland Australia, many are millions of years old, the remnants of ancient dried river plains. The climate of this mostly flat desert country means that it rarely rains but when it does it floods the entire region, so water runs back towards low-lying areas where salt lakes have formed. These large shallow lakes can fill during a good rainy season, becoming temporary havens for water birds and other wildlife.

Salts, alkaline and minerals build up in the lakes as there is no natural outlet for the water that has flowed in. The chemical reaction between salts and minerals lends some startling colour changes within the lakes, often amplified at sunrise and sunset by reflections from the surface. These colours can be seen in the artwork of Janice Stanley when she paints Pantu salt lakes near Mt Connor in South Australia. The blending of vibrant colours with white salty outlines is part of a larger Dreaming story of the Seven Sisters constellation.

Jackie Wirramanda paints images of Lake Tyrell in north-western Victoria with aspects of her ancestral country where people gathered around the shallow water pools. Community activities are shown including women’s traditional practices of weaving and food preparation.

This exhibition will be on display at Japingka Gallery from 1 August to 4 September 2025.