Timo Hogan – Lake Baker, 2021

Pukunkura, or Lake Baker, a vast salt lake in the Great Victoria Desert, lies at the centre of Timo Hogan’s paintings. As Pukunkura’s cultural caretaker, Hogan draws on the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa, the ancestral story of the Two Men, while observing the cultural protocols governing what can be revealed. Built from layered applications of synthetic polymer paint worked with a palette knife, the paintings evoke the salt lake’s shifting surface through a restrained palette of whites, creams and ochres. The sweeping white form traces the path of the Wanampi, the water serpent, while two circular forms mark the presence of the Two Men. Against histories of colonial exploitation across the region, Hogan’s return to Pukunkura affirms the continuity of Country.

Timo Hogan’s paintings engage with Lake Baker, a vast salt expanse at the boundary of his Spinifex Lands, for which he holds cultural authority. Balancing revelation and concealment, his paintings share knowledge while protecting what is sacred.

La Biennale de Lyon acknowledges all First Nations peoples of Australia, their Traditional Custodians of the lands, and Elders past and present. We honour the enduring strength, diversity, and richness of First Nations artistic and cultural practices. We recognise First Nations peoples as Australia’s first artists, whose creative traditions have been sustained across millennia and continue to shape the Nation’s cultural landscape today.