Kunawarritji 2011

Nora Wompi was born in the Great Sandy Desert at Lilbaru, close to Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route. In Kunawarritji, she emphasises the metaphysical essence of this landscape rather than its visible features. Lines of tali (sand hills) and jila (circular rockholes) appear tangentially, more as a mirage than as material presences. Here, she expresses the ‘big picture’ of her Country, centred on a vital freshwater source that lies far south-west of Balgo. Wompi shares her perception of the site through pale, milky tones that recall the blinding whiteness of the salt lakes that pattern the landscape, and also suggests their deepening tones, which fade in the light of the setting sun.