Untitled, 1978

synthetic polymer paint on canvas board

51 x 61 cm

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Provenance: Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, NT, Cat No. DN78114 Private Collection NSW
Artwork story: This painting depicts the journey of an old ancestral man who travelled toward Yantjuka, a soakage site located roughly 60 kilometres northwest of Papunya. Originating from country to the north, he carried two sacred boards—one large board balanced upon his head and a smaller, thinner one held beneath his arm. Before beginning his travels, the man painted his body with ochre, preparing himself ceremonially for the journey. Upon reaching Yantjuka, he rested in the shade and camped for the night before continuing south toward Yuulunturrngu (Mount Liebig), the prominent mountain lying west of Papunya. In the painting, flowing lines trace the old man’s path to Yantjuka, while a concentric circle motif marks the site where he stopped to rest. The U-shaped form denotes the man seated at his campsite, and the patterned dot fields allude to the sacred boards he carried—one upon his head and the other beneath his arm.

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b. c.1935

synthetic polymer paint on canvas board

51 x 61 cm

Sold

Provenance: Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, NT, Cat No. DN78114 Private Collection NSW
Artwork story: This painting depicts the journey of an old ancestral man who travelled toward Yantjuka, a soakage site located roughly 60 kilometres northwest of Papunya. Originating from country to the north, he carried two sacred boards—one large board balanced upon his head and a smaller, thinner one held beneath his arm. Before beginning his travels, the man painted his body with ochre, preparing himself ceremonially for the journey. Upon reaching Yantjuka, he rested in the shade and camped for the night before continuing south toward Yuulunturrngu (Mount Liebig), the prominent mountain lying west of Papunya. In the painting, flowing lines trace the old man’s path to Yantjuka, while a concentric circle motif marks the site where he stopped to rest. The U-shaped form denotes the man seated at his campsite, and the patterned dot fields allude to the sacred boards he carried—one upon his head and the other beneath his arm.