The paintings by both artists are very closely linked to their respective home countries. Parwalla is the country where Elizabeth Nyumi lived as a child with her mother, before losing her in a tragic accident. After this, Nyumi led a nomadic existence with her father and family group, ultimately settling in the Wirrimanu community at Balgo, where she commenced painting in 1987 for the Warlayirti Artists cooperative.
Esther Giles lost her father at a young age as he was shot in a brutal unprovoked attack by a white person while out on a hunt. A harsh introduction to Western society, while Esther was living in a traditional nomadic life style in the Gibson Desert. She soon settled with her family in the Warburton Mission located west from Alice Springs, where she married and raised her family. However as soon as the first indigenous communities were established she moved back out into these desert settlements. Esther’s artworks represent the traditional homelands associated with her tribe's ancestral heritage. Australian indigenous Artworks are often linked to ancient stories and traditions, but are also strongly connected to the often traumatising events as native communities came into contact with white settlers.
Technically both the works by Elizabeth Nyumi and Esther Giles are characterised by an impasto style dot-painting, where the painted dots merge into broader shapes. Where Eshter’s work in this viewing room is truly abstracted, representing sand dunes, Elizabeth includes more traditional figurative representations. These paintings are striking examples of how traditional techniques and stories that have been told and retold through generations have been incorporated into contemporary artworks.
