Description
This artwork is part of a special slideshow feature for the fundraising auction Ochre: Supporting Indigenous Health through Art at Mossgreen Auction House, Melbourne Australia. This auction is held on Tuesday 14th October, 2008 at 5.30-8.30pm. RSVP Essential by Monday 6th October
This painting depicts designs associated with the rockhole site of Wirrilpinya, south-west of Jupiter Well in Western Australia. This is the artist“’s father“’s country. In the mythological times a group of ancestral Tingari men camped at this site before travelling east to the rockhole site of Naru. The lines running through the painting are the tracks of the men as they passed between the sandhills, while also representing body paint work by the men during ceremonies. This mythology forms part of the Tingari song cycle.
Since events associated with the Tingari Cycle are of a secret nature no further detail was given.
Generally the Tingari are a group of mythical characters 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 accompanied by novices and their travels and adventures are enshrined in a number of song cycles. These mythologies form part of the teachings of the post initiatory youths today as well as providing explanations for contemporary customs.
© Patrick Tjungurrayi and Papunya Tula Artists