Helen Rubuntja was born at Ampilawatja, a remote community situated on Ammaroo
cattle station some 320km north-east of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). This painting depicts Helen’s grandmother’s ancestral country – the brilliant
azure desert sky, the rolling hills and towering peaks of Tjorita, the MacDonnell
Ranges, that sprawl to the east of Mparntwe. Helen captures the abundance of
this country, the ephemeral wildflowers that burst into bloom after the
precious desert rains, and the stoic desert oaks. Helen fuses a Western way of seeing the landscape, but layers her designs with the dots that have become synonymous with the Western Desert contemporary
Aboriginal art movement. She enjoys working with bright colours, and her
canvases have a sincerity and reverence for her ancestral country. They provide a glimpse into the timelessness of the desert expanses that
have nourished Indigenous people for tens of thousands of years.