Water Story, 2000

synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen

181 x 412.5 cm

Price on application — enquire

Provenance: Cat No. KA00519 Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW
Artwork story: Although he began painting in the early 1970s, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa's reductive, linear works first appeared in the mid-1990s. While it may be challenging to reconcile these contemporary images with their traditional content, the overall shimmer he effects with seemingly minimal application radiates the artist's authority and self-assuredness. His technique and the mood he created by manipulating space allowed him to command a greater scale of painting, a feature of commissioned works since 1999. However, as big pictures, they remain uncompromising. His mastery of design principles, often using just two or three colours with core iconic symbols, retains a purity that sets him apart from his peers. The painting depicts the travels of the Tingari Men to the site of Ungama, south west of Kiwirrkura. A large group of wise men travelled across the country and gathered at this site performing ceremonies, then they travelled to Kiwirrkura. The formation in this painting represents rainwater filtering and washing its way to the soakage water site at Ungama.

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c.1943 – 2023

synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen

181 x 412.5 cm

Price on application — enquire

Provenance: Cat No. KA00519 Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW
Artwork story: Although he began painting in the early 1970s, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa's reductive, linear works first appeared in the mid-1990s. While it may be challenging to reconcile these contemporary images with their traditional content, the overall shimmer he effects with seemingly minimal application radiates the artist's authority and self-assuredness. His technique and the mood he created by manipulating space allowed him to command a greater scale of painting, a feature of commissioned works since 1999. However, as big pictures, they remain uncompromising. His mastery of design principles, often using just two or three colours with core iconic symbols, retains a purity that sets him apart from his peers. The painting depicts the travels of the Tingari Men to the site of Ungama, south west of Kiwirrkura. A large group of wise men travelled across the country and gathered at this site performing ceremonies, then they travelled to Kiwirrkura. The formation in this painting represents rainwater filtering and washing its way to the soakage water site at Ungama.