About this artwork
Ian Rictor paints with a quiet reverence for the country that he depicts, from his relatively recent nomadic movements over the endless interior that makes up Spinifex Lands. Ian walked from water source to food source and beyond, this was a cultural and family existence for survival in an arid land before his family were found and ‘brought in’ by relatives in late 1986: making them the last known traditional hunter gatherers in Australia. Ian’s compositions center on the life affirming sites he depicts and each are multi layered with meaning. Many are surrounded with secrecy and only surface details can be recorded. Here, Ian depicts country associated with the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa (Two Men Creation Line). This is an immense narrative that follows two Wanampi (Water Serpent), a father and son, as they traverse the Spinifex Lands on ceremonial business and the significant site of Kamanti situated in the heart of Spinifex country and where the two men stayed for a period. These characters are creation beings who shaped the narrative within the landscape as they journeyed through it, leaving indelible physical reminders of their power and presence.