Tjayanka Woods
Tjayanka Woods is an Australian Aboriginal artist. She was one of the pioneers of the art movement across the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara lands, which began in 2000. She is best known for her paintings, but also a craftswoman who makes baskets and other woven artworks. Her paintings are held in the Art Gallery of Western Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, and the National Gallery of Australia.
Woods was born about 1935. She was born close to Kaḻayapiṯi, a in the Great Victoria Desert of South Australia. She grew up living a traditional, nomadic way of life in the bush with her family, before any contact with Euro-Australian society. They often camped at Kaḻayapiṯi, and Woods and the other girls would gather bushfood together. She learned to carve basic tools and decorative objects, and to burn traditional patterns into the wood, which is her personal Dreaming. They are structured like maps drawn in the sand, tracing the journey of the two sisters around the edge of the canvas. She paints in earthy colours, and uses solid and dotted lines in concentric circles to depict the journeys and activities of figures in the story.
