This striking installation in 2024 allowed visitors to be immersed in Country and listen to the chatter of black cockatoos as Vanessa Inkamala’s evocative and meaningful artwork was brought to life through animation and sound.

An artist and Director of Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, Vanessa’s great uncle was the late Albert Namatjira and her aunt was fellow artist Ivy Pareroultja.

Tjoritja Cockatoos, projected across three screens, represented the cyclical and seasonal work of Country. From sunrise to sunset, life was interconnected, embodied with the rhythms of the rituals and ancient calls to Country.

Everything from the waterholes and the sky to the trees and the birds was living. Everywhere there was a presence and a spirit, and everything and everyone had a purpose to continue the biodiversity of Country.

Kwatye, which meant both rain and water in Arrernte, reconnected us and regenerated the plants, like the mistletoe berries, which were used by the birds of sky country, for nesting, building, and nurturing the next generation.

Our birds, the cockatoos, were indicators of seasonal change. Feeding on the nectar and seeds of the Eucalypt flower, they flew across country distributing seeds and fertilizer. We watched. We listened, and so the cycle continued.