Nyinnga: Winter in the Spinifex

Nyinnga: Winter in the Spinifex presents a survey of work produced by artists of the Spinifex Arts Project.

This year brought a severe summer to the Great Victoria Desert—48 degrees in the shade, air conditioners failing, and battery systems overheating. But the Spinifex Arts Project toiled on. Born in the bush, this art movement has never relied on such luxuries. Roll out the canvas and keep on trucking, the artists insisted.

Although spirits remained high throughout the gruelling summer, the cool edge of May and June was welcomed. Nyinnga is the Pitjantjatjara word used for this season as the desert colours shift and the cold fog of winter rolls in. The fireplace becomes the hub of the Art Centre, with artists edging their canvases as close to the hearth as geometry allows. The days become shorter and the light softens, the studio a hum of activity.

Nyinnga informs both bounty and bust in the desert. It also informs the very sites that are depicted in these paintings, whether it’s Ned Grant’s Papatatjara, Lennard Walker’s powerful Kulyuru or Timo Hogan’s Lake Baker, nyinnga brings forth different colour and composition in the landscape that emerge through each painting. Nyinnga invites the viewer to see Tjukurpa as both ancient and contemporary as it shifts throughout the seasons.

Exhibition Catalogue (PDF)