Stockman days

$3,350.00

In this self-portrait, Adrian Jangala Robertson places himself within his mother’s country, Yalpirakinu, with striking sensitivity and power. Adrian is embedded in the ochre-toned terrain; an enduring presence shaped by memory and place. Drawing from his early years as a young stockman, Adrian conjures the physicality of that life while also honouring its emotional weight. The influence of Adrian’s late mother, renowned artist Eunice Napangardi, resonates in the work. Adrian’s restricted colour palette intensifies the landscape’s drama: sharp ridges, desert mountains, and the silhouettes of trees. pulse with movement and memory. This painting is a deeply personal reflection on identity. His mix of bold mark-making and restraint imbues the work with both clarity and mystery. Adrian, grounded on country, becomes a powerful symbol of his family’s continued responsibility for connection to Yalpirakinu.  

Adrian Jangala Robertson was born at Papunya in 1962. He went to school in Papunya and remembers Geoff Bardon as a school teacher and working alongside the early Western Desert painters. Adrian’s fathers’ country travels from west of Walungurru through Karku at Nyirrpi to Warlurkurlangu at Yuendumu. His father, Jampitjinpa, lived at Mount Doreen close to Yuendumu and later worked at Papunya as a gardener and builder. Jampitjinpa was a brother to the late Darby Ross Jampitjinpa. Adrian joined Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists in 2002.