Kanikiya was born in 1932 in the community of Oodnadatta. Kanikya grew up in the region and travelled with her father Dick Taylor on camel around the expanse of the central interior of Central Australia. Kanikiyahas been painting for several years and has been involved as an artist/director with several art organisations such as Jukurrpa (womens art centre) and Pertame arts.

Kanikiya paints her stories related to women ceremonies such as the love story Kunkga irrkurta and the travelling of the two sisters. In this painting Kanikiya has interpreted the women discarding their Wana (dancing sticks) upon completion of a dance

Like European art, Aboriginal art represents and symbolises the world and the beliefs of people. Traditional Aboriginal art represent the Dreaming but is often also a vital part of ceremonies.

The concept of art in traditional Aboriginal society is very different to the concept of art in European society. In traditional Aboriginal societies, activities like dancing, singing, body decorations, sand drawings, making implements or weaving baskets were not considered to be separate activities called art and design. All of these activities were a part of the Dreaming and a part of normal daily life.

Aboriginal people traditionally used the materials available to them to symbolise the Dreaming and their world. As a result, art forms varied in different areas of Australia. In the central desert, ground drawing was a very important style of art and throughout Australia rock art as well as body painting and decoration were common although varying in styles, method, materials and meaning. There is and was a wide range of traditional Aboriginal art forms.

Communities today throughout Australia such as ours still produce traditional art, which has traditional content and meaning