Piltati (Grandmother’s Country)

Yanyi Dunn is an emerging Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara artist from Ernabella on the APY Lands. She grew up surrounded by strong creative role models, spending her childhood watching senior women paint, weave, and share stories that shaped her understanding of culture and Country. After completing high school in Adelaide, she returned home to continue these traditions and develop her own artistic voice.

Yanyi often paints alongside her sister, the respected Ernabella artist Elizabeth Dunn, and the two share a close creative connection grounded in family and shared cultural responsibilities. Much of Yanyi’s work is inspired by her grandmother’s Country at Piltati, near Nyapari. Her paintings reflect the deep stories, landmarks, and ancestral presence held within that landscape, expressed through soft, rhythmic mark‑making and warm desert palettes.

Her practice also includes depictions of important bush foods and water sources, such as kampurara (bush tomatoes) and tjukula (waterholes). These works honour the knowledge passed down through generations about seasonal foods, survival, and the care of Country.

In addition to painting, Yanyi is a skilled tjanpi weaver and jeweller, creating finely crafted pieces that echo the textures and colours of her desert home. Her multidisciplinary approach reflects the strength of Anangu women’s creative traditions and her commitment to carrying them forward.

As an early‑career artist, Yanyi is steadily building a body of work that speaks with quiet confidence. Her paintings hold the stories of her family, her Country, and the cultural teachings she continues to learn and uphold.