PROVENANCE
Mangkaja Arts, WA Cat No. 462/04
Gallery Gondwana, NT Cat No. 8784WCP
Private collection, The Netherlands
Cory Surprise was born at Tapu in the Great Sandy Desert, her father’s ancestral land. Orphaned as a baby, she remained with her extended family, learning the law and gaining an intimate knowledge of her country—its water sources, sacred sites, and natural resources. She later married Peter Skipper, a renowned artist and fence-building contractor. Together, they travelled throughout the Kimberley, where Cory worked as a camp cook and goat herder, eventually settling at GoGo Station near Fitzroy Crossing for more than two decades.
Cory began painting in her fifties at the Karrayili Adult Education Centre. This work represents jilji (sandhills) at her birthplace, capturing the deep connection she maintained with her land throughout her life.
