Untitled landscape

Hermannsburg or Ntaria, as it is known locally, lies west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the Central Desert region of Australia. Ntaria is on Western Arrernte country and in 1877 it became home to the Lutheran Hermannsburg Mission, the first Aboriginal mission in the Northern Territory.

Ntaria is also the birthplace of the Hermannsburg school – a landscape painting movement pioneered by Albert Namatjira, one of Australia’s most celebrated artists. Namatjira was introduced to watercolour painting by the artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner in 1934 and he was soon joined by many of his peers, including Walter Ebatarinja, Otto Pareroultja, Edwin Pareroultja, Claude Pannka, Benjamin Landara and Richard Moketarinja, resulting in a distinctive regional style.

These artists painted detailed images of their country, capturing the intimate changes in the landscape that came with different seasons or times of the day – documenting their artistic, cultural and proprietorial claims on the land.

Joshua Ebatarinja is the son of esteemed watercolour painters Walter Ebatarinja and Cordula Ebatarinja. He learnt by watching his father paint, creating tranquil views of his custodial lands west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs).