Iltjiltjara Country by Bessie Liddle, 56x76cm, Acrylic on Paper, WOP26

Iltjiltjara Country by Bessie Liddle is a vibrant, finely patterned painting that reflects one of the central themes of her oeuvre: the meeting—and contrast—between Aboriginal life on Country and the pastoral world introduced by settlers. Works from this important series are held in major public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria.

The composition is divided by a river flowing through the centre of the canvas. On one side, a stockman on horseback and cattle grazing in the foreground signal the presence of station life. On the other, an Aboriginal family is shown through U-shaped figures gathered around a campfire, set within a lush, bush-filled landscape untouched by livestock. The river becomes both a visual and symbolic boundary, separating two ways of living while holding them within a single, shared Country.

Bessie Liddle was born at Middleton Ponds Station near Tempe Downs, southwest of Alice Springs, to a Pertame father and Luritja mother. Raised on cattle stations, she learned traditional hunting, gathering, and cultural knowledge while also living and studying at Hermannsburg Mission, where she was exposed to drawing, language, and music. Throughout her life she worked as a stock hand, camp cook, cultural educator, and maker of artefacts, teaching both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people about Country and law.

In 1986, Liddle co-founded Jukurrpa Artists Inc. in Alice Springs, a pioneering women’s art cooperative that continues to represent hundreds of Central Australian women artists. Exhibiting regularly since the late 1980s, she is known for translating ceremonial body designs and Dreaming stories—particularly women’s narratives—into bold, contemporary paintings that speak with clarity, authority, and enduring cultural strength.