Ian Rictor Australian, Pitjantjatjara, b. 1962
Ian Rictor Australian, Pitjantjatjara, b. 1962
Kamanti, 2021
acrylic on linen
110 x 85 cm
21-55
Ian Rictor paints from a lifetime of breathing in his country. He was a member of the last Spinifex family to leave a fully nomadic life in the desert when...
Ian Rictor paints from a lifetime of breathing in his country. He was a member of the last Spinifex family to leave a fully nomadic life in the desert when he walked into community life in 1986 and was in his twenties at the time so remembers well the country and water sources from his youth. Here he depicts the significant site of Kamanti in the heart of traditional Spinifex Lands. Kamanti holds the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa (Two Men Creation Line) and is a far reaching narrative that follows the movement of a father and son wanampi (water serpent) as they traverse the Spinifex Lands on ceremonial business. These are creation beings and as such, shaped the landscape as they moved through it, leaving the mapped physical environment for people to follow.