Yinjaa-Barni Artists 2017

Yinjaa-Barni artists from the Pilbara region of Western Australia tell the traditional stories of their homelands along the Fortescue River. Their paintings tell of the great Marrga or Creation era when the land was formed from the smoke of the Ancestors fires. They recognise and record the transformations of the Land as it goes from parched landscape to green bushland after torrential summer rainstorms. Abundant water forms creeks in the gorges, and the bush blossoms and the wildlife regenerates. The cycle repeats as the land dries out again in the long wait for the next rains.

The artists carry the stories of their forefathers and use a variety of styles to represent nature and its cycles of regeneration. The people maintain a long tradition of understanding and working with these transitions.