A very significant tjurkurpa to Anangu is Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) which is an extensive creation story relating to the Pleiades constellation. The story traverses Australia taking different forms, and local women are privy to the part of the story which takes place in the country near Pukatja (Ernabella). In her paintings Janice is depicting a salt lake near Attila (Mt Connor) a landmark in the Seven Sisters story. This story has been passed down to her by senior artist and aunt Renita Stanley. In this part of the story the sisters are walking and traveling south through this country. The salt lake that is a part of this arid county comes alive after rain. As the kapi (water) moves across the land it transforms the colour and light on the land and Janice is painting this change and movement.
Janice is the third generation of Stanley women to create artwork at Ernabella Arts. She is an early career painter and ceramic artist. Her grandmother is founding artist and traditional healer Tjariya Stanley and her aunts are senior artists Alison Milyika Carroll and Renita and Inawinytji Stanley. When Janice was still at school she would come into the art centre and watch her grandmother and aunties creating artworks. After finishing school she was part of a circus troupe that went on excursion to Christmas Island off the coast of WA. It was there that Janice learnt about lakes. She also saw them from the air for the first time, and that became the inspiration for her paintings.
Desert Mob is presented annually in Mparntwe | Alice Springs on Arrernte Country.
On behalf of Desart’s staff and art centre members, the Executive Committee humbly and respectfully acknowledge the Arrernte Apmereke Artweye (Traditional Owners) and Kwertengerle (Traditional Managers) of Mparntwe.
Desart respectfully advises Aboriginal readers that this website may contain names, images and artworks of people who have passed away.
