Raylene Walatinna + Betty Chimney – Country Style 2025

Our 2025 Country Style exhibition is anchored by a magnificent suite of large-scale paintings by Yankunytjatjara artist Raylene Walatinna, who is also the subject of a beautiful editorial profile in the magazine’s upcoming Art Edition. A leading creative voice in the innovative and exuberant new movement in First Nations painting at Iwantja Arts, located in the rocky desert country of Indulkana on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, Walatinna is the daughter of fellow Iwantja artist Betty Chimney, one of the most beloved names in our flagship Eora/Sydney gallery’s stable of represented artists.

The mother and daughter duo often work together on collaborative paintings, continuing the custom of older women passing on their knowledge of Tjukurpa (cultural stories) and Ngura (Country) to younger women. As a solo artist, Walatinna only produces a limited volume of work, making her presence in Heirloom all the more significant. Revealing the influence of her trailblazing mother, her sublime new work beautifully channels the tones and elemental rhythms of the desert in a celebration and continuation of her family’s enduring connection to Country and Yankunytjatjara cultural history.

To preview and acquire works by Raylene Walatinna from Heirloom ahead of the exhibition’s opening at Michael Reid Murrurundi, please email hughholm@michaelreid.com.au