Robin Kankapankatja

Robin’s theme is always his traditional country, Walalkara, 700,000 hectares of the Great Victoria Desert protected as the Walalkara Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), 65 kilometres south west of Kaltjiti, this region has one of the highest diversity of reptile species found anywhere in the world. An expert tracker, he has an intimate knowledge of the animals and plants. He creates maps of his country with an easy sense of space and openness. This is the Yankunytjatjarra country of the artist Robin Kankapankatja, as senior traditional elder, and his family. They are nguraritja, the people who belong to this south country of Walalkara in the far north west of South Australia on the APY lands. This stunning example of mapping and memory displayed within this painting reinforces the strong connection that Robin has with his country of Walalkara. These are the distinctive images of Robin Kankapankatja’s paintings – the trees of Walalkara country and the ridges of sandhills alternating with the flat sandy plains and the vital water supply in the rockholes contrast with the black dotted line that depicts spinifex after back burning which Robin plays a key role in advising and assisting APY Land Management. Robin identified with this tree in the “Field Guide to Plants of the Outback of South Australia” by Frank Kutsche and Brendan Lay. He calls them ANYIMA and they are uncommon in the North West region but some are found south of Fregon. The common name is Red Mulga – acacia cyperophylla.