From its beginnings, Balgo art has been celebrated for its daring use of colour, striking iconography, and dynamic, boundary-pushing styles. Early works often depicted ceremonial iconography and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) stories, capturing the essence of Country and the journeys of ancestral beings. These paintings were deeply rooted in cultural knowledge, acting as both a visual language and a connection to the artists’ homelands.

From very early on, Balgo artists have seemed to veer comfortably in and out of abstraction, while still allowing space to employ the traditional iconographic elements. This resulted in the development of an extremely diverse mix of styles. To this day, Warlayirti Artists studios continue to play host for a wide range of artistic styles and voices, making diversity of style a timeless theme.

"Dotting used to highlight the content in Balgo paintings, the Kuruwarri, [the sacred design associated with ‘traditional iconography] bringing an optical dynamism to painted forms. Over time it has pulled away from those forms, and seemingly become the content itself." (p. 9)

"Balgo Horizons" offers a glimpse into the history and evolution of one of Australia’s most vibrant artist communities. Made up of two parts, the exhibition consists of primary market artworks by the working painters of Warlayirti Artsists, as well as secondary market works from private collections representing the founding and early stages of the Balgo art movement. Originally, the concept was to juxtapose ‘the old’ and ‘the new’, expecting a clear contrast between the two (as one may see in the history of other communities such as Papunya wherein, for a multitude of reasons, the present abstract geometric style has all but entirely replaced the early representational imagery of the 70s). Quickly, however, it became clear that this narrative did not suit the works in“Balgo Horizons”.

"The jukurrpa is not an enduring edifice, however much it is presented as such. It persists because it changes, or because it has always helped desert people make sense of change." (p. 361)

As the movement developed through the 1990s and into the 21st century, Balgo artists began experimenting further with abstraction and technique, resulting in artworks that were more individualistic while remaining firmly grounded in cultural tradition. Colours became more vivid, compositions more innovative, and traditional imagery transformed into highly personal expressions of place and identity. On one hand, we have stylistic shifts that affect entire generations of artists. On the other hand, within a community that features so many disparate styles of painting, there are individual stylistic lineages that evolve separately, sometimes linking different generations of a single family. It is not just the Dreamings themselves that are inherited as is common in most communities, but the language to describe them. In this way, the ‘old’ feels ever-represented by Wartlayirti Artists. No memory is left behind, the horizon never out of reach.

In the opening to his fantastic book ‘Balgo: Creating Country’, author John Carty presents us a key to begin understanding the meaning of a painting by Elizabeth Nyumi:

"It means everything. Literally, everything. It is not a retelling of a Dreamtime story. It is not a picture of a place, or a representation of it. It is Country. Balgo artists don't say 'this is a painting of my Country': they say that the painting is their Country." (p.1)

John Carty; Balgo: Creating Country, UWA Publishing