Biography

Adam Gibbs lives in Kintore, on the border between the Northern Territories and Western Australia. He is the son of the great Yala Yal Gibbs Tjungurrayi, one of the founders of the Papunya art centre Tula Artists Pty. Ltd. and a pioneer of contemporary Aboriginal art.

Although Adam Gibbs' style differs from that of his father, he has decided, like his father, to dedicate his artistic career to celebrating the episodes of the Dreamtime - the time of creation for the Aborigines - which he inherited.

In particular, he depicts the "Dream of the Honey Ant". This sacred story is known only to the initiated. We only know that the honey ant ancestors gathered in Papunya to celebrate ceremonies, and then set off on other journeys across the desert.

These insects contain honey in their abdomens, which the Aborigines like to feed on. They are found in the Australian desert, where they dig galleries in the ground leading to small 'chambers' where they hang themselves. These galleries are symbolised on the canvas by the multiple lines that structure it. But these elements also represent, respectively, the paths taken by the ancestors in the Dreamtime and the parallel dunes that surround Warumpi.

Collections: The Kelton Foundation Collection