Alhalker Country
![A photo of Urlerrperl waterhole, near Alhalker, with a tree, a rocky mountain and tall grass](https://media.nga.gov.au/Uj8n6u26D2HcFJclaFV6lThqL9Y=/1600x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-27.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
Filmmaker DYLAN RIVER’s photographs of the land that inspired and informed EMILY KAM KNGWARRAY’s paintings.
Dylan River is an award- winning Kaytetye filmmaker and photographer from Mparntwe/Alice Springs and comes from a family of storytellers and filmmakers. The personal histories of his family are embedded in Central Australia, with a close connection to Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Country. Freda Glynn, River’s grandmother, was one of the founders of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), which was established in 1982 to maintain and sustain the culture and languages of Central Australia. In 1987 CAAMA commenced a series of projects that increasingly brought the artists of the Sandover region, including Kngwarray, into prominence.
From 1977 until her death in 1996, Kngwarray created thousands of works of art — from batiks to monumental paintings — inspired by the deep knowledge that she channelled as the Anmatyerr matriarch of Alhalker. River’s photographs of Alhalker Country give a sense of the vast beauty of Kngwarray’s Country.
Dylan River was commissioned by the National Gallery to photograph the artist’s Country for the Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition publication.
![A photo of long native grass blowing in the wind.](https://media.nga.gov.au/TzwfWNmrNNiLm7gMIkZfR0HsSM4=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-29_1.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![Soft clouds at sunset drift in the sky.](https://media.nga.gov.au/2BEkiqHchz2-zMe3vG3GtbaCuQE=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-38_1.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Clouds at sunset over Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![The reflection of country in the water of a waterhole at sunset.](https://media.nga.gov.au/-ZdzxpvGRHwfLdMvXGZZV-EzPBQ=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-34_1.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Urlerrperl waterhole, near Alhalker, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![A rolling orange landscape with tufts of grassy shrubs from an aerial perspective.](https://media.nga.gov.au/chARji4iRklpEfD-ry56toD_img=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-3_1.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![A photo of spinifex blowing in the wind.](https://media.nga.gov.au/82E4XwSxV5opmZXl4dgtvK_ulE8=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-24.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Spinifex, Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![The bright stars in a black sky.](https://media.nga.gov.au/-_wsgLRgC9uyrCx9J4VHzaQN1AE=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-36.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Night sky over Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![An aerial shot of rocks and green shrubs.](https://media.nga.gov.au/ThaDPKxbuKmwqABcmSbAoaRlrdQ=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-10.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Alhalker Country, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
![A photo of a waterhole with the reflection of the sky captured in between rocks on the smooth water surface.](https://media.nga.gov.au/vgkxN36xo6iBP37TwTAsTJcWYBw=/adaptive-fit-in/1200x1200//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/kngwarreye-44.jpg)
Dylan River, Kaytetye people, Reflection of clouds at Urlerrperl waterhole, February 2023 © Dylan River, 2023
This photo essay was first published in The Annual 2023.
Images also appear in publication Emily Kam Kngwarray, published by the National Gallery to coincide with major exhibition Emily Kam Kngwarray.
Emily Kam Kngwarray is on display from 2 December 2023 to 28 April 2024.