Carol Young Australian, Pitjantjatjara, b. 1972

Carol Young was born in 1972 in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory. Like many other Anangu (people of the Pitjantjara lands), Carol remembers spending much of her younger years travelling between communities, particularly Amata and Pipalyatjara. Today, Carol lives in Pipalyatjara and is the primary carer for several of her family members.

Carol comes from a strong Anangu family, with both her father and grandmother also being prominent artists. Her father, Stanley Young, aside from being an artist, is also a local elder, lawman, and camel herder. She is also the granddaughter of the late Nyankula Watson, an important Western Desert Painter. Nyankula has passed down both her ‘tjukurpa’ (traditional stories) and unique art style to her granddaughter, which influences all of Carol’s work today. In Anangu culture, stories and painting style are often protected within families, of which only select individuals have permission to continue in their own art practice. Carol uses dot work, with some sweeping brush strokes, to depict these mystical stories of country.