An artist paints what they know, what they see. For Pitjantjatjara woman Atipalku Intjalki, that’s the land her family has called home for generations — the grasslands, the waterholes, the quiet oases of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, captured through more than 50 years of practice as the matriarch of the Ernabella Arts Community.
This year, her Tjukurpa Mulayangu takes on a new form. With her permission it has been translated onto the 2026 limited-edition Specsavers’ eyewear collection, supporting The Fred Hollows Foundation and bringing her connection to Country into everyday life, one frame at a time.
Fred Hollows footage courtesy of Nomad Films. Fred Hollows photo’s courtesy of Michael Amendolia and Peter Solness.
The long-standing partnership celebrates two milestones this year: 15 years since it began and the 10th artist collaboration. Atipalku’s collaboration celebrates that milestone in a particularly meaningful way, returning to where it all began, in the APY Lands where the very first Specsavers collaboration started in 2014. It’s also in this region where Fred Hollows began some of his earliest Trachoma work, supporting eye health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
A Lifetime Spent Looking Closely
Thousands of kilometres away in the APY Lands, long before her artwork made its way onto a pair of glasses, Atipalku had spent decades capturing her Country — its essence, its memories, the way the landscape moves and changes.
Born in Ernabella on APY Lands, Atipalku began working at the Ernabella Arts centre more than 50 years ago, when artists hand-spun sheep fleece into wool to weave floor rugs and wall hangings. By the 1970s some of her silk works were displayed in the National Gallery of Australia and up until today her work has been shown in over 50 exhibitions nationally and internationally.
Today, Atipalku is an accomplished tjanpi (grass) weaver, punu (wood) artist and painter and her Tjukurpa Mulayangu artwork reflects the same careful detail she’s spent a lifetime perfecting.
“For 50 years, I have made art here in the middle of my community,” Atipalku says. “I paint my father’s Country to keep his story alive.”
In her ‘Tjukurpa Mulayangu‘ piece, Atipalku draws on her decades of artistic practice, bringing a powerful narrative deeply rooted in her connection to Country to life. Her vibrant work portrays the tjanpi (grass) and many tjukula (waterholes) which make up her father’s Country. Central to the story is the Mulayangu, a wanampi (water snake) whose journey across the APY Lands is said to have created the rockholes that sustain life in the region. Through this work, Atipalku reflects on generations of shared heritage, weaving together ancestral storytelling, landscape, and enduring cultural connection.
Wear The Story
The 2026 Limited-Edition range includes four styles, each carrying Atipalku’s artwork through to the smallest details, right down to the collector’s case and cleaning cloth.
Available exclusively at Specsavers, in-store and online and retailing for $199 AUD. Each pair carries its own material story: polished acetate on the sunglasses, refined metal on the optical frames and designed to feel as considered as the artwork they carry.
With $25 from every pair sold donated directly to The Fred Hollows Foundation, choosing a pair means choosing to help carry Atipalku’s story — and the Foundation’s work restoring sight, further still.
Specsavers
Fred Hollows 20
Specsavers
Fred Hollows SUN RX 15
Specsavers
Fred Hollows SUN RX 16
Specsavers
Fred Hollows 19
Our new limited-edition range features beautiful artwork by Atipalku Intjalki, Pitjantjatjara woman and Ernabella artist, with $25 from each pair sold donated to The Fred Hollows Foundation helping to close the gap in eye health.
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