A VISIT to Crocodile Hole – a scenic, crocodile-infested waterway near Kununurra – led to a life-long love affair with remote areas and indigenous art for Hamilton Hill’s Christina McGuinness.

“I was blown away…It’s a wonderful place and I was sitting with people who have been there for 40,000 years,” she says.

The love is still there but McGuinness is putting her 30-year artwork collection up for sale, with proceeds going to the Origins Centre in Balingup.

“I helped build it. It has given me so much—I will give back as much as I can.”

• Christina McGuinness. Photo by Jenny D’Anger

Arnhem Land

Her collection includes ceramics, sculptures and textiles by renowned artists like Pantjiti Mary McLean, Paddy Carlton, Roy McIvor and Nancy Petyarre.

The artworks have been sourced from locations as far flung as Warburton, Lockhart River, Weipa and Arnhem Land.

Buyers will get a certificate of provenance “and where there’s not I have other means of authenticity,” McGuinness says.

Stories is at Kidogo Art House, Bathers Beach, from Friday May 11 to Sunday May 13.

WA Museum curator Michelle Broun will open the exhibition and will join McGuinness to give a talk on Saturday at 3pm.

by JENNY D’ANGER