Lake Amadeus by Vincent Forrester Muntjantji 152x122cm

The dreaming story, Anangu Tjukurpa, explains Lake Amadeus' formation. The wanampi (water snake) created the lake by digging out the ground with a stick and drawing concentric circles in the land. The first European to encounter Pantu/Lake Amadeus was explorer Ernest Giles in 1872.

Vincent uses highly prized red ochre, collected by his aunties who are custodians of the sacred mountain Karku, along with blue acrylic paint.

Born in 1952, Vincent Forrester is an Aboriginal Australian activist, artist, and community leader. As a founding member of several Aboriginal organizations in central Australia, Forrester has been a prominent political activist on issues affecting Indigenous Australians. He has served as the chairman of the community council at Mutitjulu and advised the governments of Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke on Indigenous affairs in the 1980s. Forrester has been a vocal critic of the Intervention in the Northern Territory and advocates for better economic and educational development in affected communities.