Ian Rictor
Tjuntjuntjara, WA
Tuwan is where the Tjulpu Tjuta Tjukurpa (Many Birds creation line) manifests. This is an epic narrative following the journey of a group of Zebra Finch people as they journey south to save the world from rising seas. They use their spears to create giant ramparts to hold back the sea. These characters described are Creation Beings with the power of transformation, not just of themselves but of the landscape they moved through.
About the Artist
Ian Rictor was born in 1962 at Artulin/Tuwan in the Spinifex Country (WA). He is a custodian and traditional owner of Tuwan, a significant site.
Ian�s family is the last of the known Aboriginal people to have remained living traditionally in the Great Victoria Desert. They lived a relatively nomadic existence, walking from water source to food source to survive before being located and 'brought in' by relatives in 1986. Ian now lives in Tjuntjuntjara Community with his wife, Kathleen Donnegan, also an artist, and their extended family.
Layered with meaning, Ian's compositions centre on the life-affirming sites he depicts. Many of these are surrounded with secrecy and only surface details can be recorded. Tuwan is where the Tjulpu Tjuta Tjukurpa (Many Birds creation line) manifests. This is an epic men�s creation narrative that follows the journey south of the Wati Nyii Nyii (Zebra Finch Men) where they place their many spears to save the world from being inundated by floodwaters.
Ian joined Spinifex Arts Project in 1997 and has been painting his birthplace and surrounding Country ever since. His work has been included in numerous exhibitions within Australia and internationally, and is held in public and private collections.
