Geraldine Riley b. 1974

Geraldine Riley is a Warlpiri artist from the remote community of Willowra, situated some 340km north-west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the rugged Tanami desert.

Geraldine paints the wild bush flowers that decorate the landscape of her ancestral country. In the arid desert climate, native botanicals are treasured by Aboriginal people for the abundance they bring. Flowering plants can be used for medicinal purposes, or are important sources of bush tucker - either by producing nutritious fruit or providing habitat for other food sources, such as honey ants that nest in the roots of mulga trees.     

Geraldine’s style of painting comprises of the repetition of fine small dots and thin lines, mapping delicate flowers from a bird’s eye point-of-view. Geraldine has a meticulous hand, creating a lattice of intricate patterns that unfurl across her canvases. Geraldine prefers to paint either in a monochromatic or reduced colour palette, creating high-contrast, striking works.