Tjilkamarta Tjakarrpa, 2007 by Dorothy Ward 152x152cm

Tjilkamarta was camping between two groups of people the Yakarri mob and the Patjarr mob. He travelled down from the north by himself, a stranger and a rain maker. In the evenings he asked the Yakarri mob to share their food but they never shared anything with him. The young girls would hold out nyuma (see cake) and then snatch it back constantly teasing the old man when he tried to take it with his short arms. In the mornings the old man would ask the Patjarr people for a feed and they would share their meat, bush tucker and nyuma with the old man. Eventually Tjilkamarta got really wild and he sang for a big cloud to come to Talala with hail and lightning. Everyone was killed, men, women, children and babies of the Yakarri mob. He destroyed them all in his rage. He took the bodies to Talala and cooked them in a big fire. Then he ate them all. Tjilkamarta was careful to make sure that the Patjarr peple near by didn't get hurt in the storm. He created a big fog that divided the good people who shared with him, from the rude people who had teased him so badly. Afterwards, Tjilkamarta walked away to where he finished up at Kurlpatjarra.

Dorothy Ward, a senior custodian represented by Kayili Arts, hails from Patjarr, a small community in the Ngaanyatjarraku Shire of the Gibson Desert. This remote area, established around 2005, lies north of Warburton and west of Warakurna, serving senior traditional owners. Renowned artists frequently travel between Warburton and Patjarr to visit family.

Ward and her fellow artists are celebrated for their powerful paintings deeply rooted in traditional law and ancestral knowledge, passed down through generations. These artworks not only embody cultural heritage but also contribute to practical needs, such as funding local dialysis services, showcasing art's healing power in Indigenous communities.

In an interview with the Guardian during the Tarnanthi festival of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in Adelaide, Ward explained her painting process. She taps her head and heart, saying, “My family had the knowledge, the knowledge with culture, of every dreamtime rock hole ... they bring the story into the painting.” This connection to ancestral dreamings, passed down from grandparents, strengthens the artists, infusing their work with both mind and heart.