Janice Woods

Janice Woods is a Pitjantjatjara artist with family ties to Kanpi in the APY Lands of South Australia. She is the daughter of Elaine Woods and granddaughter of senior artist Maringka Baker. Alongside her sisters, Janice learned to paint from her mother and grandmother, with painting and the sharing of family stories closely connected.

Her paintings centre on Minyma Kutjara, the Two Women Tjukurpa inherited through her mother’s family. Her work has a particular connection to Mulpu in the Musgrave Ranges, a place of significance to Janice and her family.

The story follows two sisters travelling home through Country. The younger sister, unfamiliar with the land after a long absence, is guided and comforted by her older sister. Through the journey, and the songs and dances shared along the way, she comes to know the Country again. In painting Minyma Kutjara, Janice continues a story carried across generations of women in her family.