Born c.1940 near Gordon Downs station, Johnny Gordon Downs is a Tjaru speaker whose traditional country is Mimintilli, near the Stansmore Ranges. His principal Dreamings are Tingari and Water. He lives in Balgo and began painting for Warlayirti Artists in 1989. This artist, more than any other at Balgo, has stripped down his imagery to its simplest elements and allows the background of rows of dots to predominate. This often creates an 'optical’ effect, but more significantly communicates something of the overwhelming feeling of the country, with its rows of spinifex-covered sandhills. His art can generate a sense of the power of the land.
- Writers:
- Johnson, Vivien
- Date written:
- 1994
- Last updated:
- 2011
