Artist: Barney Daniels Tjungurrayi | Title: Blue Tongue Lizard Dreaming | Year: 1985 | Medium: synthetic polymer on canvas | Dimensions: -
PROVENANCE
Centre for Aboriginal Artists, Alice Springs NT
Private Collection, Sydney
Artist Profile
COMMUNITY/REGION
Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), NT
LANGUAGE
Luritja/Pintupi
BIOGRAPHY
Barney Daniels Tjungurrayi was born in the mid 1950s ('ration time’) near Haasts Bluff in the Northern Territory. He was associated with the Luritja language group, while his mother was Anmatyerre and his father Warlpiri.
Daniels received some European schooling at Mungana, a settlement about five miles (8 km) out of Alice Springs. He spent five years in Western Australia working as a stockman at Halls Creek station, then returned to his traditional country at Haasts Bluff and continued droving work on the government cattle station which had been established there, before starting to paint in the mid ’80s. He began on small boards, which he sold to the Centre for Aboriginal Artists. His artworks often featured Dreaming stories such as the Rainbow Snake, Bush Fire, and Witchetty Grub. He developed a distinctive stippled brushwork style, which became a hallmark of his paintings.
He was commissioned by the Australian Bicentennial Authority to paint furniture, including a desk and a TV set, for the touring 1988 Bicentennial exhibition, which also included a life-size sculpture of the artist, one of 20 Australians so represented. His pieces are held in major public collections, including the Flinders University Art Museum.
REFERENCES
Centre for Aboriginal Artists, Alice Springs NT
Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs NT
PROVENANCE
Centre for Aboriginal Artists, Alice Springs NT
Private Collection, Sydney
Artist Profile
COMMUNITY/REGION
Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), NT
LANGUAGE
Luritja/Pintupi
BIOGRAPHY
Barney Daniels Tjungurrayi was born in the mid 1950s ('ration time’) near Haasts Bluff in the Northern Territory. He was associated with the Luritja language group, while his mother was Anmatyerre and his father Warlpiri.
Daniels received some European schooling at Mungana, a settlement about five miles (8 km) out of Alice Springs. He spent five years in Western Australia working as a stockman at Halls Creek station, then returned to his traditional country at Haasts Bluff and continued droving work on the government cattle station which had been established there, before starting to paint in the mid ’80s. He began on small boards, which he sold to the Centre for Aboriginal Artists. His artworks often featured Dreaming stories such as the Rainbow Snake, Bush Fire, and Witchetty Grub. He developed a distinctive stippled brushwork style, which became a hallmark of his paintings.
He was commissioned by the Australian Bicentennial Authority to paint furniture, including a desk and a TV set, for the touring 1988 Bicentennial exhibition, which also included a life-size sculpture of the artist, one of 20 Australians so represented. His pieces are held in major public collections, including the Flinders University Art Museum.
REFERENCES
Centre for Aboriginal Artists, Alice Springs NT
Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs NT