Wynne Prize finalist Sally Scales, has been awarded the 2022 Roberts Family Prize for her work 'Wati Tjakura'. The Roberts Family Prize may be awarded each year to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artist, selected from the Wynne entries. Sally Scales is a first-time finalist this year, and is also the subject of an Archibald Prize finalist painting by Tsering Hannaford.
Scales said of her work, 'I am a Pitjantjatjara woman from Pipalyatjara in the far west of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. In this work, I am painting Aralya, the ancestral home for my family.'
'My painting practice combines elements of the artistic styles of my two grandmothers, Kuntjiriya Mick and Kunmanara (Wawiriya) Burton, and my mother, Josephine Mick,' said Scales. 'The painting depicts the Tjukurpa (creation story) of Wati Tjakura, an edible skink lizard. The Wal Mala (army) of Wati Wanambi (snake men) from Malara came and threw spears at Wati Tjakura. He tried to escape but they killed him. His family came to grieve and bury him.'
Sally Scales
Wati Tjakura, 2022
acrylic on linen
197.6 x 166.6 cm
