368-25 – Nyuntjun – ALISON GILL

Artist : ALISON GILL
Title : Nyuntjun
Size/Medium : 1219 x 610mm: acrylic on canvas Painting

In this painting, Alison Frances honours her father Mick Gill’s country, a vast expanse nestled to the south of Balgo in the Great Sandy Desert. At the heart of the artwork, a series of sacred waterholes — Kurtal, Lumunpunta, and Nyuntjun — are depicted, each one a vital source of life in Mick’s country. These waterholes are more than just physical landmarks; they are threads in the vast web of the land, each one connected to the others through underground and mythical pathways, revealing the deep spiritual ties that bind the land together.

The shapes flanking the waterholes represent the windbreaks once used by the ancestors who travelled through this country during the Tjukurrpa (Dreamtime). Over time, these windbreaks have transformed into the towering sand dunes that now stretch across the desert, serving as silent witnesses to the passage of generations.

Through Alison’s painting, we are invited to journey across the country of her ancestors, to feel the pulse of the land, the ancient connections that lie beneath the surface, and the enduring presence of those who walked these paths long before.