John R Walker Vinbana-Yura-Mulka (Breakneck Gorge) I

John R Walker has regularly visited the northern Flinders Ranges, on Adnyamathanha Country in South Australia, since 2016. The gorge depicted in this work runs through a belt of ancient, twisted rock – an area that amazed the artist for its geological complexity and variation.

‘Breakneck Gorge is not a place that initially took my attention. It is quiet and a bit neglected; however, it had begun to haunt me,’ says Walker, a 15-time finalist in the Wynne.

‘The painting almost took me by surprise. I had started working on a canvas and suddenly realised what it was. I then asked Adnyamathanha artist Kristian Coulthard for the correct name for this place: Vinbana-Yura-Mulka.’

Walking extensively across the ranges making drawings with gouache to capture the timeless spirit of the Country, Walker later made this painting flat on the floor of his Braidwood studio in the NSW Southern Tablelands, on Walbanga Country.