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Desert to the Sea
“I paint from the desert to the sea. I like doing the little details like the plants. I paint my Grandfather’s and Father’s Country – Nyangumarta and Kulyakartu. I’ve been to both places. I used to go out on the weekend with my dad and grandmother and grandfather to go hunting on Nyangumarta Country. Last year I went out to Kulyakartu with my grandfather, on his Country to see where he, his family and extended family used to walk in the desert. I love being out on Country. When I get the chance, it makes me feel good.”
– Augustine Junior Badal
This artwork reflects the artist’s connection to Bidyadanga, a place where the desert meets the sea. Through colour, pattern, and texture, the painting captures important themes that shape the identity of the community and Art Centre.
Bidyadanga sits on Karajarri Country, where desert Country meets saltwater Country. The community is home to Karajarri people and to desert families who travelled from the Great Sandy Desert to La Grange Mission in the 1960s and 70s, during a time when drought and changing conditions dried desert water sources. The first five language groups to build the community together were Nyangumarta, Mangala, Yulparija, Juwaliny and Karajarri. Today, Bidyadanga continues to grow, welcoming families from across the Kimberley, Pilbara and beyond, creating a strong and diverse cultural community.
Artists draw on stories of place, family, movement, and survival — caring for both land and sea, hunting and fishing, and living between two immense environments. Patterns, marks, and flowing forms echo desert dunes, waterholes, tidal flats, reefs, bushfoods, and sea life, honouring the knowledge held across generations.
In this work, the artist celebrates the beauty of Country and community, offering a glimpse into the rich histories, cultural strength, and enduring connection to land, sea, and way of life.
Dimensions: 36 x 46cm
