This painting is about the red desert sand in The Great Sandy Desert the hills and the mudflats. I love the colours of the desert.
This painting shows the Artists Grandfathers country where they used to walk around in circles searching for bush tucker and water from the waterholes. When our ancestors came out from the Canning Stock route, they used to see big mob of sand dunes and flowers.
Name: Bibianna Tumbler
Language: Juwaliny
Community: Bidyadanga
Biography:
“I was born at La Grange at the old hospital. I grew up there and have been there all my life with my parents. I started painting in 2015. What inspired me the most is the way the old people used to tell me stories about their Country and their families’ background. When they used to paint, they used the colours to represent the land, seas, flowers, animals and other things.”
– Bibianna Tumbler
Bibianna’s paintings often depict her Grandfather’s Country in the Great Sandy Desert, showing red desert sands, waterholes, wildflowers, and bush foods such as kumpaja (bush nuts). Her works carry the memory of ancestors walking the desert, searching for bush tucker and water, and reflect the colours of both desert and sea. She began painting in 2015 and continues to share the stories passed down by her Elders through her detailed use of line, colour, and circle motifs.
Her talent has been recognised across the Kimberley. In 2025, Bibianna won the Indigenous Art Award at the Shinju Art Award in Broome and the Kimberley Art and Photography Prize in Derby.
“Through storytelling and painting about Grandfather or Grandmother’s Country, I can help teach future generations.”
– Bibianna Tumbler
Untitled This artwork showcases the artist’s skillful use of colour, texture, and technique, reflecting a deep connection to their environment and culture. Each detail embodies the unique identity of Bidyadanga Artists, where the original five Read more…
Papilija Papilija is a yinta soak in Kulyakartu; My grandmother and her sibling’s country. They used to go there all the time. Good kapi for drinking and yukarri (green) all around. Lots of warta (trees). Read more…
Seven Sisters This painting is about waterholes in the desert where the old people used to walk from water hole to water hole in the canning Stock Route area. All the colours represent all the Read more…