Kungkarangkalpa (Journey of the Seven Sisters) I-III, 2026
acrylic on canvas board
These three paintings tell the story of Kungkarangkalpa (The Seven Sisters), one of the great ancestral stories of Australia’s Western Desert. It is a living cultural story shared across many Aboriginal nations and one that belongs to my Yankunytjatjara, Antikirinja and Pitjantjatjara heritage.
For Aboriginal people, these stories are more than legends. They are living knowledge that connects us to Country, family, culture and the night sky. They teach us how to live, how to care for one another and how our ancestors shaped the land we know today.
My middle name is Purveen, a Persian name popular in Pakistan, meaning Pleiades - the star cluster known around the world as the Seven Sisters. I’ve always loved that both sides of my heritage share this connection to the same stars. Although the stories are different, they remind us that people across cultures have long looked to the night sky for meaning, guidance and belonging.
I was taught the Kungkarangkalpa story by my family from a young age. As a child I lived at Cave Hill near Amata on the APY Lands, a place deeply connected to this story. My great-grandfather’s family came from this area, and it remains an important cultural landscape today, with ancient cave paintings, sacred places and generations of knowledge held within the Country itself.
The Seven Sisters descended from the sky and travelled across the desert, creating and naming places as they journeyed. Their travels formed waterholes, landmarks and sacred sites that continue across hundreds of kilometres of the Western Desert. These places are connected through songlines / ancient cultural pathways that carry history, law and knowledge from one generation to the next.
Throughout their journey the sisters are pursued by Wati Nyiru, a powerful ancestral man who can transform himself and use deception in his attempts to catch them. The sisters survive because they stay together, listen to one another and follow the wisdom of the eldest sister.
She has always been my favourite part of the story. She is calm, observant and protective. She teaches her younger sisters to recognise danger and not to be deceived by appearances. At one point she warns them not to eat fruit from a beautiful tree because she knows it is a trap. Her wisdom and leadership keep the sisters safe.
I think this is why the story has stayed with me throughout my life. It reminds me of the strength of Aboriginal women, the importance of listening to our elders and the responsibility we have to protect one another. These teachings remain just as relevant today as they have been for thousands of years.
Across these three paintings, the story unfolds as one continuous journey. The flowing lines represent the movement of the sisters across Country and the pathways that connect places, people and stories. The circular forms represent camps, significant places and the sisters themselves. The largest circle symbolises the eldest sister, while the red circle in the central painting represents Wati Nyiru, whose presence follows throughout the journey. In the final painting, the sisters return to the sky, becoming the Pleiades star cluster that can still be seen above us today.
Creating this series has been deeply personal. It honours the stories passed down through my family and celebrates the connection between both my heritages through the shared significance of the Pleiades.
For me, these works are ultimately about women holding one another through knowledge, love and protection. They reflect the spirit of Held: the quiet strength of mothers, sisters, aunties and grandmothers who carry culture, safeguard knowledge and continue to hold families and communities together across generations.
Lisa Khan is a Yankunytjatjara/ Antakirinja/ Pitjantjatjara artist from Coober Pedy. Lisa paints her Grandmother's ngura (my home, the land and rockholes) as well as her Grandfather’s country, he was born at Wallitina Station. She says ‘when I paint, I feel connected to my country and my grandparents who aren't here anymore, It is my job to look after the country and the stories from my grandmothers.’
