Bob Gibson — Wanambi Kutjarra | Two Water Serpents

In Wanambi Kutjarra, Bob Gibson traces the ancestral journeys of two water serpents through his father’s Country at Patjantja, near Kurlkurta in the Pintupi lands on the edge of the Gibson Desert. Painted with his trademark speed and sureness, Bob’s works hum with the vitality and presence of the creation stories they reference.

Bob paints on his feet, circling the canvas as the serpents’ paths curve and cross. His gestures are rapid yet deliberate, guided by an internal rhythm. There is no hesitation in his brushwork; each movement inscribes the landscape in real time. The results are compositions that feel both improvised and exact – a meeting of instinct, memory, and cultural authority.

Born at Papunya in 1974, Gibson grew up amid the formative years of the Papunya Tula movement, before returning with his family to live on ancestral lands west of Tjukurla. He joined Tjarlirli Art soon after its founding in 2006.

His mother, Mary Gibson, a senior Tjarlirli artist, speaks of the story and Country that underpin this body of work:

Mary’s words locate these paintings within a deep familial lineage, reaffirming the inherited knowledge and authority with which Bob paints this Country. Patjantja is both geographic and ancestral – a place tied to family, memory, and the movements of ancestral beings.

In July 2025, the art centre held its annual Return-to-Country bush trip, continuing years of mapping, tracking and story recording with Elders to revisit significant sites from the Early Days. This year, for the first time since his parents walked out of the desert, Bob returned by helicopter to Patjantja – to once again walk on the Country of his ancestors. Upon returning, one of the first things he reached for was his paintbrush.

In the studio, Bob’s joy is palpable. His compositions are dynamic and contemporary, each brushstroke a physical response to Country. The paintings feel alive, shimmering with colour and movement – yet remain grounded in cultural precision.

Wanambi Kutjarra affirms Bob Gibson (Takuri) as one of the most dynamic and original artists working in the Western Desert today. Through movement, colour and connection, his paintings carry forward an enduring story of Country, family and belonging.

Text developed from writings by Riley McPherson, Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art.