Beryl Jimmy

Beryl Jimmy is a Pitjantjatjara woman living at the community settlement of Watarru, in the far northwest of South Australia, part of an area referred to as the Western desert. She was born in 1970. Beryl’s work is inspired by a deep connection to country, and her spiritual links to the desert are expressed with integrity, beauty and creativity. Traditional knowledge of food collection and water sources were vital for survival in this dynamic desert landscape and is a prominent theme in her work.
This cultural knowledge is handed down orally in the retelling of the Tjukurpa (traditional stories of the ancestor’s journeys), which not only sustains Anangu (Aboriginal people) physically, but socially and spiritually.
Tjukurpa painting depicts a fragment of a larger story, a living history where an ancestor was involved in creating country. Individuals have authority and ownership of this land and the associated sites and stories. The maintenance of this country is paramount to artists of Watarru and they continue to care and manage the land with respect and responsibility.