Tingari, 1981

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

114 x 71 cm

Est. $4,000 – $6,000

Provenance: Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, Alice Springs, NT, Cat No. GY810921 Private Collection, NSW Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd
Artwork story: At Watanuma, southeast of Jupiter Well, there is a rockhole. The designs in this painting were inspired by Tingari ceremonies held at this site, certified by K. Williams of Papunya Tula Artists in January 1981. The central roundels represent the rockholes; the other roundels the ceremonial participants; a sinuous wavy line traces the path of a snake whose passage through the area created a creekbed; and the field of dots across the ground represents a rocky outcrop. The Tingari constitutes ancient and secret post-initiatory instruction for young men of the region, transmitted through lengthy song cycles to which the visual designs serve as complementary mnemonics — the familiar vocabulary of forms used subjectively, so that the artist alone can convey a full interpretation. George Yappa Tjungala was born around 1945 at Witingu in country between Jupiter Well and present-day Kiwirrkura. Following the death of his father he was adopted by Anatjari Tjampitjinpa, one of the founding generation of Papunya Tula Artists. In 1963 his family was sighted by government patrols and a year later relocated to Papunya, where George began his artistic life assisting senior painters including Uta Uta Tjangala and Charlie Tarawa Tjungurrayi. By the mid-1970s he was painting in his own right, his practice rooted in Eagle Hawk Dreaming and Tingari stories connected to his country around Kirrpinga, Kiwirrkura and the great waterhole at Wala Wala. This work was painted at Sandy Blight Junction in 1981, at the height of the Western Desert painting movement's first great decade.

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Sale 3 · Lot 56

George Yappa Tjungala

c.1945 – 1989

Region: Western Desert
Language group: Pintupi

Tingari, 1981

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

114 x 71 cm

Est. $4,000 – $6,000

Provenance: Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, Alice Springs, NT, Cat No. GY810921 Private Collection, NSW Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd
Artwork story: At Watanuma, southeast of Jupiter Well, there is a rockhole. The designs in this painting were inspired by Tingari ceremonies held at this site, certified by K. Williams of Papunya Tula Artists in January 1981. The central roundels represent the rockholes; the other roundels the ceremonial participants; a sinuous wavy line traces the path of a snake whose passage through the area created a creekbed; and the field of dots across the ground represents a rocky outcrop. The Tingari constitutes ancient and secret post-initiatory instruction for young men of the region, transmitted through lengthy song cycles to which the visual designs serve as complementary mnemonics — the familiar vocabulary of forms used subjectively, so that the artist alone can convey a full interpretation. George Yappa Tjungala was born around 1945 at Witingu in country between Jupiter Well and present-day Kiwirrkura. Following the death of his father he was adopted by Anatjari Tjampitjinpa, one of the founding generation of Papunya Tula Artists. In 1963 his family was sighted by government patrols and a year later relocated to Papunya, where George began his artistic life assisting senior painters including Uta Uta Tjangala and Charlie Tarawa Tjungurrayi. By the mid-1970s he was painting in his own right, his practice rooted in Eagle Hawk Dreaming and Tingari stories connected to his country around Kirrpinga, Kiwirrkura and the great waterhole at Wala Wala. This work was painted at Sandy Blight Junction in 1981, at the height of the Western Desert painting movement's first great decade.