Women Painting Country showcases landscape paintings by Indigenous artists who live in remote communities across the Cape and Gulf regions of far north Queensland. These artists are represented by art centres in Pormpuraaw, Mornington Island, Hope Vale, and Aurukun, and each has created new landscape works especially for this exhibition.

Pormpuraaw artist Beverley Holroyd, paints the stories she learned from her mother and father when she was a young girl walking for miles learning about the plants, wildlife, and sacred sites on her country.

Mornington Island artists Amanda and Dorothy Gabori, and Dolly and Amy Loogatha, similarly incorporate stories about their homeland in their landscape paintings of marine creatures, flora, and fauna on the island where they grew up.

Wanda Gibson, Gertie Deeral and Madge Bowen are from Hope Vale, a small community on the eastern coast of Cape York. Their paintings portray important landscape features, sacred sites, and historical events that took place on country during the time of first contact.

For Aurukun artists, Vera Koomeeta, Nita Yunkaporta and Sheryl Pamulkan May, painting the landscape keeps connection to country alive. Sheryl’s painting Pach Mo’an tells the story of the shooting star, which is one of her totems and the story is located on her mother’s country near Aurukun.

This beautiful exhibition is testament to the imagination, knowledge and passion of women artists who live and work in Indigenous communities across far north Queensland.

Image: Gertie Deeral, Yuruu (detail), 2021, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Hope Vale Arts and Cultural Centre