“Collaborative mark-making between Aboriginal people is an intrinsic cultural activity. Prior to its post-contact forms, Aboriginal art was made collectively under the guidance of senior knowledge holders. In a ceremonial context, for example, Western Desert designs were often painted onto the bodies of performers by a group of senior men working in unison. This practice continued when Aboriginal men began painting on board at Papunya, such as in this example by two of Papunya’s founding artists, Kappa Tjampitjinpa and Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri.

This painting refers to a slender vine known as ngalyilpi (snake vine, Tinospora smilacina) that grows in desert country north of Papunya. Typically, women removed strips of its coarse fibre to weave into bark sandals. Such foot-coverings were worn in the peak of summer to ease the task of traversing the searing hot sands of the desert interior. Ngalyilpi also has significant medical uses that are still employed today.” (Vanessa Merlino and Luke Scholes, 60 over 50: 60 Paintings from 50 Years of Australian First Nations Art, 2023, p. 52)