Kids in Mt Liebig try out their bikes

BIKES IN THE DESERT

Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 09.09.10

All thirty school-age kids in the Western Desert community of Mt Liebig (Amunturrngu) will get new BMX bikes next Saturday (18th September). They've been donated by the Bikes for Bush Foundation – which is intending to fund further bikes for remote desert communities with an auction of three Aboriginal painted racing bikes in Melbourne on Friday 1st October in Melbourne, coinciding with the UCI Road World Championships. For behind this project is Team Fly V Australia, the national cycling team managed by Chris White of Pegasus Racing, which ended the recent American season as number one team and is currently applying for a ProTour licence to race in events like the Tour de France next year. While White and sponsor Lumo Energy have managed the bike side of things, Sydney's Art Equity has organised the painting – bringing in three of the Desert's most senior artists – Wentja Napaltjarri from Mt Leibig, Mrs Bennett ( Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa) from Docker River, and Tommy Watson from Irrunytju. Only Wentja's bike has been seen so far – but her brilliance in reducing the complexity of her father's country west of Kintore – which appears in the image on the 3 metre canvas behind the artist – to a spindly little bike frame has amazed everyone. As Mt Liebig's Watiyawanu Art Centre manager, Glenis Wilkins explained, the rear forks of the bike reminded Wentja of kangaroo leg bones – and of course she'd had experience in the past of painting woomera and tjuringa. Wilkins went on to say that the project had been a great lift for the whole community – painting had been in abeyance since the death of Bill Whiskey in Mt Leibig. But the prospect of losing the bikes for their children and grandchildren brought many an artist back to the» Read More