Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri Pintupi, circa 1952-2022
Untitled (soakage water site), 2007
Synthetic polymer paint on linen
72 × 96 inches (183 x 244 cm)
Photo: Courtesy of D’Lan Contemporary
Provenance
The Artist, painted at Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia, 2007
Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, cat. no. JJ0702039
D'Lan Contemporary, Melbourne
Collection of Steve Martin & Anne Stringfield, New York
Exhibitions
60 over 50: 60 Paintings from 50 Years of Australian First Nations Art, UOVO, New York, May 2023Literature
Vanessa Merlino and Luke Scholes, 60 over 50: 60 Paintings from 50 Years of Australian First Nations Art, UOVO, 2023 (illus.)
"This painting depicts designs associated with the creek and rockhole site of Yunala, west of the Kiwirrkura Community. The edible tubers also known as yunala grow at this site. The lines in the work represent the root system of the plant growing out from the main water source. In ancestral times a large group of Tingari women camped at Yunala, digging the tubers before travelling north-east to Lake Mackay. Since events associated with the Tingari cycle are of a secret nature no further detail was given. Generally, the Tingari are a group of ancestral beings of the Dreaming who travelled over vast stretches of the country, performing rituals and creating and shaping particular sites. The Tingari men were usually followed by Tingari women and were accompanied by novices, and their travels and adventures are enshrined in a number of song cycles. These stories form part of the teachings of the post initiatory youths today as well as providing explanations for contemporary customs." (Papunya Tula Artists, cat. no. JJ0702039)