Desert Heart

In the remote West Australian Aboriginal community of Bidyadanga, a new art movement has emerged. At its helm is a young Aboriginal man, Daniel Walbidi, who was born and raised here. His parents, grandparents and extended Yulparija tribe come from an area around the Percival Lakes in the Great Sandy Desert.

When the Karrajarri won a claim for native title in 2002 a distinct yearning for their own desert country began to re-emerge. With the realisation that they would never return to their tribal homeland, Yulparija elders worried that their traditional stories would be lost. A desire to paint and record their stories for their children and grandchildren became a pressing concern.

Daniel Walbidi started his journey as an artist from listening to stories from his elders. His early painting inspired the old people to apply brushes to canvas in an explosion of creativity and expression. Vibrant and bold motifs manifested in a discordant array of colours, hot desert reds together with the bright turquoise blues and greens of the coast; it was desert country painted in a saltwater palette. For Daniel, an unseen landscape come to life.

After a series of sold out exhibitions, these unique works became the “next big thing".