BIOGRAPHY

Rachael Stevens was born at Shirley Well, five kilometres north of Fregon Community on the APY Lands. Rachel is the daughter of celebrated senior artist Kunmanara Stevens from Nyapari. She lived in Nyapari for many years with her family, but moved back to Fregon and today works at Kaltjiti Arts. Rachael has three children.

Rachael paints the many rockholes that are located in the region of the *APY Lands near Nyapari. It is her father's country. Rockholes are located across the desert country often located in the sandhills, small rocky hills and ranges. The irregular circular shaped depressions in the rocks fill with water when it rains. Knowing where these water sources were, keeping them clean and keeping out unwanted animals were an important part of ensuring the water supply. Some were quite deep and held water for a long time and others were shallow and dried out quickly. They were the lifeblood of nomadic people, and an integral part of survival in a harsh environment.