Description
Subject
George Tjungurrayi’s untitled painting relates to the claypan site of Mamultjulkulnga, on the western side of Wilkinkarra (Lake Mckay). This site is of great importance to the artist, whose father passed away here. After rain, the claypan becomes a shallow freshwater lake, and the small fleshy shrub known as mungilypa (Tecticornia verrucose) grows abundantly. During ancestral times, two Tingari men of the Tjungurrayi and Tjapaltjarri kinship subsections camped at this site to gather mungilypa. The men made spears, which they threw towards the east and west. The spears flew straight before turning north and south. Tjungurrayi’s linework in this painting traces the trajectory of the spears.
In this work, Tjungurrayi employs his signature two-tone palette and rhythmic linework to create an artwork that vibrates with the energy of spears hurtling through space. The complex optical striping also references the traditional technique of fluted wood carving and the paths of the Tingari, a group of ancestral Dreaming beings whose adventures created and transformed the landscape.
Artist: George Tjungurrayi
Born circa 1947, Kiwirrkura, Northern Territory. Lives and works Kintore, Northern Territory. Pintupi people.
George Tjungurrayi began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in 1976. While the traditional aesthetic of Western Desert painting is notable in his early work, he has developed a distinctly minimal style that not only engages with the striking linear quality of early Pintupi painting but is also inherently distinguishable as his own. Tjungurrayi’s paintings depict the topographical reference points of his ancestral country, particularly those that reflect sites of cultural significance within Pintupi culture.
Solo exhibitions of Tjungurrayi’s work include Paintings, Utopia Art, Sydney (2016); Pulka Canvas, Utopia Art, Sydney at The Depot Gallery, Sydney (2013); Space & Place, Utopia Art, Sydney (2011); Between the Lines, Utopia Art, Sydney (2008); Paintings from Mamultjulkulnga and Kirrimalunya, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne (2003); Unforeseen 1989 to 2002, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane (2003); New Fields, Utopia Art, Sydney (2002); and George Tjungurrayi – first solo show, Utopia Art, Sydney (1997).
Provenance:
Manufactured by One of Twelve – an Australian organisation that showcases the work of emerging and established artists from the Asia Pacific region. We are dedicated to celebrating and contributing to the art sector of this region through the production of high quality, silk garments that depict collaborating artists work. These unique pieces are each accompanied by an artist card, detailing the maker’s work and practice.
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