Balarinji's Latest: Qantas Art Aircraft Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa
Presenting the beautiful A220 Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa. Featuring the artwork of renowned Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker, Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa tells the Creation story of the Two Sisters.
Renowned Indigenous Australian design agency and DIA Hall of Fame honorees, Ros Moriarty and John Moriarty of Balarinji, have partnered with Qantas to create distinctive fuselage designs for the entire Flying Art Series liveries in collaboration with First Nations artists and their families. The recently unveiled A220 Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa represents the latest addition to this impactful series.
Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa Concept
The latest Flying Art Series livery features the artwork of senior Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker and tells the Dreaming story of two sisters who traverse remote Australia together, covering vast distances to find their way home. The younger sister has been lost for a long time in the south, and her big sister leads her north across vast distances. Comforting her younger sister, the older sister teaches her about the Country they travel through. They stop on the way to perform Inma (sacred singing and dancing). The aircraft is named after the artwork Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa – The Two Sisters Creation Story.
Around 100 painters were involved in completing the livery, with the Airbus teams working with 130 stencils to replicate the detailed designs. It features over 20,000 dots and is the most complex livery Airbus has ever completed for this aircraft type.
“Balarinji is proud to have worked with Maringka and her family, Tjungu Palya Arts Centre, Copyright Agency, Qantas and Airbus to create this beautiful aircraft. The art aircraft collection is a great example of how we can experience the strength, integrity and beauty of Aboriginal culture through best practice collaboration with artists and communities.”
- Ros Moriarty, Balarinji Co-Founder, DIA Hall of Fame
The Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa Art Aircraft is a powerful example of how Indigenous design can influence how we think about ourselves as Australians. It’s an example of how we can experience the strength, integrity and beauty of Aboriginal culture through best practice collaboration with artists and communities. Through motif, colour palette and story, Maringka Baker’s art expresses deep Indigenous meaning about sustainability.
The importance of family, and the principles of living close to, and looking after Country, are all about resilience. Aboriginal people are the world’s first ecologists. They have successfully sustained life on our ancient, fragile continent for 60,000+ years. Caring for Country principles for land and sea continue to be deeply embedded within Indigenous culture and practice.
Maringka Baker, a senior Pitjantjatjara artist
Maringka Baker is a senior Pitjantjatjara artist from the remote community of Kanpi in far north west South Australia. Born in 1952, Maringka began painting in order to tell her ancestral stories relating to travel, women’s ceremonial business, family connections and traditional lands. Her deep spiritual connection to her Country is evident in her artistic voice that speaks to ceremony and story through her mastery of tone, and command of colour and composition.
Maringka is recognised as one of Australia’s most accomplished artists, with works held by the National Gallery of Australia and the Parliament House Art Collection. Maringka is credited with inspiring a new generation of First Nations artists from her family and community through teaching and mentoring.
40 year partnership with Qantas
The Qantas Flying Art Series was launched in 1995 with the unveiling of the first Indigenous livery aircraft, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet named Wunala Dreaming. Since 1995, the Flying Art Series have commissioned and displayed six striking Aboriginal artwork across the Qantas fleet.
The enduring partnership between Qantas and Balarinji commenced in 1983, marked by the sale of Balarinji's Aboriginal-themed silk and superfine wool scarves onboard Qantas flights. Over four decades, this collaboration has evolved, resulting in the creation of six Qantas-Balarinji Art Aircraft and Qantas' longstanding uniform textile, Wirriyarra. Beyond design innovation, this enduring alliance signifies a dedication to excellence, reconciliation, and the celebration of Australia's foundational culture.