Kutungka Napanangka Dreaming #414
Acrylic
on canvas
182 x 305 cm
(71.7 x 120.1 in)
2009
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about
George Ward Tjungurrayi paints in his own adaptation of the Tingari style. The Tingari Cycle is a cycle of mythological stories about the supernatural ancestors of the Pintupi that during the formation of the earth travelled around the country, performing rites, teaching law and shaping life and the landscape. Deceptively delicate lines of loosely-joined dots create networks or webs over the entire surface of the canvas. This gives his paintings a distinct energy that contributes to the dynamism inherent in the composition. Multi-layered representations of country such as this painting reflect the central concerns of the Papunya Tula artists.This particular piece depicts the mythological journeys of Kutungka Napanangka, an old woman who passed through a series of sites west of the Kintore Community. During her travels from Mina Mina salt lake towards the east she stopped at the rockhole site of Tjinalka, where she gathered a variety of seeds that can be ground into a paste and then cooked in the coals to form a type of unleavened bread. Later she continued travelling towards the east eventually reaching Muruntji near Mount Liebig. At Muruntji she was accosted by one of a group of boys so she chased them and caught all but the culprit who managed to escape. She killed the others and cooked them in a fire.
