Desert Country

This trail is intended as a guide for young people and families as they enjoy the exhibition.

FIND: Can you find other objects important to hunting and survival? What might they have been made of?

LOOK: On the sides of the painting you will notice some shield like shapes. What do you think they were made of and what could the markings mean?

THINK: You have a big story to tell. How might you go about painting it.

PaPunya Tula arTisTs

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was one of Australia’s greatest artists. His epic paintings depicted stories about his country, weaving together Aboriginal law and ceremony, vitally important to social cohesion and survival.

As a member of the famous Papunya Tula Artists, Clifford revealed through painting the stories that had once only existed briefly as markings in the sand. His purpose was to ensure the survival of Aboriginal law and connection with country.

This painting depicts men and women’s ceremonies for the site of Yinyalingi, located in the heart of the artist’s ancestral homeland. Delicate concentric circles depict the underground nests of honey ants (a delicacy among desert people), excavated by an ancestral woman. Around the sides are her belt and digging stick as well as objects related to men’s ceremony.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri

c.1934–2002, Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory

Honey Ant Ceremony1972, Papunya, Northern Territorysynthetic polymer paint on board 104.0 x 81.4 cmElder Wing Centenary Gift of The Foundation 2001© Estate of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri 2010, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency

PaPunya Tula arTisTs

LOOK: Can you see a rocky outcrop in the painting? What other landscape features can you see?

DESCRIBE: What would it be like to walk across this landscape? What would you see?

LIST: What colours can you see in this painting?

AT HOME/SCHOOL: Using a limited range of earth colours, paint a landscape using Tolson’s line painting style.

Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula1942–2001, Pintupi people, Northern Territory

In this painting Turkey Tolson tells the ancestral story of a clash between two groups at a site called Ilyingaungau, near a rocky outcrop far to the west of Alice Springs.A large group of men from Tolson’s father’s country at Mitukatjirri had travelled toward Ilyingaungau where they made camp. At the same time a group of men from Tjikari came into the same territory. The Mitukatijirri men challenged them to fight and the painting shows the many spears being straightened in readiness.

Straightening spears at Ilyingaungau 1990, Kintore, Northern Territorysynthetic polymer paint on canvas 181.5 x 244.0 cmGift of the Friends of the Art Gallery of South Australia 1990 © Estate of Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula 2010, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency

PaPunya Tula arTisTs

Doreen Reid Nakamarra

c.1955–2009, Pintupi people, Northern Territory/Western Australia

The Rockholes at Marrapinti depicts a significant women’s site west of the Pollock

Hills in the Gibson Desert of Western Australia. Marrapinti is where the ancestral

women of the Nangala and Napangati skin groups would camp and make nose

bones or marrapinti. The fine dotting in this painting shows the creek at the site,

and the surrounding sandhills.

FIND: Can you seek the creek?THINK: The artist has been very careful in detailing every aspect of the landscape. How could she know it so well?DESCRIBE: You make a journey across this landscape. What would you take with you and why?DRAw: a bird’s-eye view of a place that is important to you.CHOOSE: Draw your own small section of this beautiful and complex pattern.

Rockholes at Marrapinti2007, Kiwirrkura, Western Australiasynthetic polymer paint on canvas, 153.0 x 183.0 cmGift of Frances Gerard, Dr Michael Hayes, Mark Livesey QC, David McKee, Lady Porter and Sue Tweddell through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation Collectors’ Club 2007 © Estate of Doreen Reid Nakamarra 2010, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency

WaTiyaWanu arTisTs

DESCRIBE: The landscape you see before you.

IMAGINE: Shut your eyes and imagine flying above the land. How do you feel?

FIND: This landscape might look barren. But there is water there. Can you guess where it might be?

THINK: How long would it take to make a painting like this.

In Sandhills Lilly Kelly Napangardi has skilfully depicted the topography in this

elemental landscape. The overall affect is hypnotic, suggesting features that appear and

disappear with the changing winds. The artist paints in almost microscopic detail, but

her overall view of the landscape is very large in scale. It’s as if her spirit was flying

over the landscape like a grain of sand.

Lilly Kelly Napangardi

born c.1948, Luritja/Walpiri people, Northern Territory

Sandhills2005, Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory synthetic polymer paint on linen185.0 x 307.0 cmGift of Justice Bruce Debelle, Peter Dobson, Frances Gerard, Anne Kidman, John Mansfield, David McKee and Dick Whitington QC through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation Collectors’ Club 2005© Courtesy of Lilly Kelly Napangardi & Watiyawanu Arts

Warmun arT

Rover Thomas1926–1998, Kukatja/Wangkatjunga people, Western Australia

Rover Thomas was one of the most remarkable artist to emerge from the Warmun community

at Turkey Creek, in the Kimberley Region in North-Western Australia. Paruku depicts a lake

and is one of Rover Thomas’s great masterpieces, a sophisticated representation of the power

and significance of meeting places. The cultural and social importance of Paruku is reinforced

by the five boundaries touching the lake’s edge. The use of traditional symbolism in painting

remained important to Thomas throughout his life.

HOw: This painting uses traditional pigments. What might they be? Where do they come from?

wRITE: A short story about a journey through the Australian desert landscape.

LOOK: Paruku is a lake. Why do you think the artist has shown it in black?

AT HOME/SCHOOL: Try making your own paints from soil and charcoal samples near your home.

Paruku (Lake Gregory)1991, Turkey Creek, Western Australianatural pigments on canvas 168.0 x 183.0 cmSouth Australian Government Grant 1991© Rover Thomas estate, courtesy Warmun Art Centre

Warmun arT

Mabel Juliborn 1933, Gija people, Western Australia

Garnkiny Ngarrangkarni – Moon Dreaming uses simple designs to refer to Mabel Juli’s

rich experience of the sparse desert environment where she lives.

The painting is a love story of an Aboriginal man who is heartbroken as he cannot

marry the beautiful girl with the long black hair whom he loves. Rather than stay on

earth without her he is forever in the night sky, coming back to life every month as the

moon.

wRITE: Create your own imaginative story about how the sun rises and sets.

PAINT: The moon at night in a desert landscape IMAGINE: You can turn into a rock, tree, a star, an animal at the click of your fingers. What would you choose to become?

Garnkiny Ngarrangkarni – Moon Dreaming2009, Turkey Creek, Western Australianatural ochre and pigment on linen120.0 x 180.0 cmGift of the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation 2009© Mabel Juli, courtesy Warmun Art Centre

WarlayirTi arTisTs

Tjumpo Tjapanangka

c.1929–2007, Kukatja/Pintupi people, Western Australia

DESCRIBE: What colours can you find in this painting?

CHOOSE: You can live anywhere you want in this landscape. Where would you choose and why?

DRAw: What do you think a goanna man might

look like?

Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay)2001, Balgo Hills, Western Australiasynthetic polymer paint on canvas120.0 x 180.0 cmGift of Harold and Neriba Gallasch 2002© Tjumpo Tjapanangka, courtesy of Warlayirti Artists

This Dreaming story concerns the travels of two brothers, often called two goannas,

whose actions create the features of the landscape. Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay) tells

a story of the two goanna men’s search for bush food as they move from waterhole

to waterhole. The waterholes are represented by the three small yellow circles. A

commonly told story from the region, the two goanna men start a fire to flush out prey,

but the fire blazes destructively out of control. The hills near Wilkinkarra are burnt by

the fire and fall into the lake, creating today’s claypan.

uToPia region

Bush Plum is an exquisitely coloured composition with an under-painted layer of deep

pink, which is then covered with fine white dotting built up in layers. The artist used a

single bamboo skewer to create each dot with fine detail, which gives the overall effect

of a subtly textured, shimmering surface.

The artist shares her Bush Plum Dreaming with her older sisters, senior custodians of

the cultural knowledge for their country. This work is also about memory, a landscape of

observation and sensory perceptions, and is a sophisticated representation of the flora,

geographical and sacred sites related to the Bush Plum.

OBSERVE: This painting has very fine dotting. Move in closely, observe, then step back to experience the overall effect.

THINK: Why would a story about bush plums be important? What do you think?

DISCOVER: What does a bush plum look like?

(It is also referred to as a native currant).

Bush Plum2007, Utopia, Northern Territorysynthetic polymer paint on linen120.0 x 330.0 cmGift of Bill Nuttall and Annette Reeves through the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors 2009. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.© Angelina Pwerle, courtesy of Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

Angelina Pwerle

born c.1952, Anmatyerre/Alyawarr people, Northern Territory

maralinga TjaruTja PeoPle

Destruction I2002, Oak Valley, South Australiasynthetic polymer paint on canvas122.0 x 101.2 cmSantos Fund for Aboriginal Art 2002© Kunmanara Queama and Hilda Moodoo

IMAGINE: How would you feel having to leave your country, perhaps never to be able to return? Look at the painting Destruction I. How does this painting make you feel?

LOOK: This painting is so vibrant and colourful. How well do the colours help to tell the story?

FIND: Where is Maralinga? Where is Oak Valley?

Kunmanara Queama

1947–2009, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia

Hilda Moodoo

born 1952, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia

Hilda Moodoo and Kunmanara Queama’s Destruction I shows the mushroom cloud of the Maralinga atomic bomb tests. The Maralinga people had been moved from their lands in the 1950s to allow the British to conduct atomic bomb and rocket tests. After regaining possession in 1985, the exhibition Desert Oaks (2002) marked the determination of the traditional owners to establish there community again on ancestral grounds and ‘to pass on their knowledge through their paintings and leave their history

behind for others’.

ngaanyaTjarra WesTern DeserT mob

FEEL: Can you feel the energy of the willy-willy.

LOOK: The artist has used a large range of colours. Which colours stand out the most for you?

THINK: What do you think is the important message portrayed in this story?

This work tells of two uncles and their young nephew who camp at Walu rockhole, a site

on the Wati Kutjarra (Two Men) Dreaming route. While the uncles were out hunting,

the boy would sneak into the Owl people’s camps and steal their meat. The Owl people

complained to the uncles, but the boy denied his crime. The uncles then became angry

with the Owl people and a big tornado swept them away. The men again went hunting

and returned with an emu. They were cutting it up for dinner when the greedy boy

pulled out its heart and ran away, dripping blood, which is still visible today on stained

rocks. One uncle, a powerful magic man, conjured a giant willy-willy and turned the

boy into wind. The circle-like whirls on one side of Walu Tjukurrpa suggest this wind.

Tommy Mitchell

born 1943, Ngaanyatjarra people, Western Australia

Walu Tjukurrpa2010, Warakurna, Western Australiasynthetic polymer paint on canvas, 152.4 x 213.4 cmd’Auvergne Boxall Bequest Fund 2010© Tommy Mitchell, courtesy Warakurna Artists

aPy arTisTs

Kunmanara (Eileen Yaritja) Stevens

c.1915–2008, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia

LOOK: What traditional symbols have been used in this painting? How has the artist used them?

FIND: Can you trace the tracks of the watersnakes?

wRITE: begin a story with the words ‘The two snake men were sitting with the two women who would go out

each day in search of food while the men painted…’

Piltati2005, Nyapari, South Australiasynthetic polymer paint on canvas 105.0 x 150.0 cmEd and Sue Tweddell Fund for South Australian Contemporary Art 2005© Kunmanara (Eileen Yaritja) Stevens, courtesy of Tjungu Palya

This work shows part of the Wanampi Kutjura (Two Watersnakes) Dreaming from Piltati

rockhole. The story relates to the formation of the land, river courses and rock holes around

Piltati, a place west of Amata near the Northern Territory border. In the watersnake story,

two brothers trick their wives (two sisters) by turning into watersnakes. The women hunted

for food each day and the men hid in burrows revealing small parts of their tails to lure the

women into furious digging. After days and days the women created many trenches which

have since become the watercourses of their local terrain. Painted in a loose and highly

energetic style, it is an exhuberant and colourful painting full of movement.

Puli murpu is a Pitjantjatjara name for a mountain range, ridge or rise. This painting

depicts part of the Musgrave Ranges behind Amata. The dark areas in the painting are

the mountains as seen from the side and above. The blue circles are rockholes, where

water collects after the rains. The three frond-like elements at the edge of the rockholes

are the honey grevillea bush. This plant produces orange-coloured flowerheads from

which sweet nectar can be sucked and when added to water produce a dark-coloured

sweet drink.

Ruby Tjangawa Williamson

born c.1940, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia

aPy arTisTs

IMAGINE: A cool pool to swim in, sweet nectar and a refreshing cool drink. Sounds like a party.

wRITE: A short story about a day spent at Puli murpu with your friends.

THINK: What animals might you expect to see at Puli murpu?

AT HOME/SCHOOL: Paint a bowl of fruit using the dot painting technique.

Puli murpu – mountain range2009, Amata, South Australiasynthetic polymer paint on linen, 121.5 x 152.0 cmSouth Australian Government Grant 2009© Ruby Tjangawa Williamson, courtesy of Tjala Arts

aPy arTisTs

Aboriginal people often associate themselves with one or more of the creatures of their

homeplace, known as a totem. In speaking about this work, Harry Tjutjuna described

himself as a ngankari, a traditional healer or doctor, depicted as a spider man – his

totem. In this painting, the spider, Harry, is looking for a partner as well as reflecting

on his role as a traditional healer, also known as a ‘clever man’. Spiders are involved in

the creation stories of his birthplace.

FIND: Can you see the spider man in the painting?

OBSERVE: This spider has many legs. All the more to catch you.

IMAGINE: Choose a native animal for your totem. Why have you chosen it?

Spiderman Wati Wangka 2007, Ernabella, South Australiasynthetic polymer paint on linen120.0 x 150.0 cmSouth Australian Government Grant 2008© Harry Tjutjuna, courtesy of Ernabella Arts and Ninuku Arts

Harry Tjutjuna

born c.1930s, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia

aPy arTisTs

In 1997 Nura Rupert began painting with acrylic on canvas and paper. Her work is

whimsical and quirky, and often expresses stories from her childhood. Her subjects

often involve mamu (spooky spirits), papa (dogs) and tjiti (children), but have also

included Wati Ngintaka (Perentie Lizard Man), flying birds, emus, tingka (donkeys),

rabbits and camels.

Mamu (Spooky spirits) was featured on an Australian 55-cent postage stamp in 2009.

wRITE: A short story about your family pet/s or your favourite animal.

AT HOME/SCHOOL: Draw or paint a spooky spirit – part human/ part animal

FEEL: The whirling energy of these strange creatures with wide yes and fangs bared.

Nura Rupert

born c.1933, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia

Mamu (Spooky spirits)2002, Ernabella, South Australiasynthetic polymer paint on linen92.0 x 122.0 cmEd and Sue Tweddell Fund for South Australian Contemporary Art 2006© Nura Rupert, courtesy of Ernabella Arts

Ginger Wikilyiri, born c.1932, Pitjantjatjara people, South AustraliaKunumata2009, Nyapari, South Australiasynthetic polymer paint on canvas, 97.0 x 166.0 cmd’Auvergne Boxall Bequest Fund 2009© Ginger Wikilyiri, courtesy of Tjungu Palya

Desert Country tour datesart gallery of south australia, Adelaide29 October 2010 – 26 January 2011

lawrence Wilson art gallery University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 13 May – 31 July 2011

mornington Peninsula regional galleryMornington, Victoria, 17 August – 2 October 2011

Perc Tucker regional galleryTownsville, Queensland, 18 November 2011 – 30 January 2012

newcastle region art galleryNewcastle, New South Wales, 18 February – 6 May 2012

university of Queensland art museumBrisbane, Queensland, 15 June – 26 August 2012

Principal Partner

This education resource has been made possible through the partnership between the Art Gallery of South Australia (Arts SA) and Outreach Education (Department of Education and Children’s Services). Outreach Education is a team of DECS educators seconded to public organisations.

arT gallery of souTh ausTralia North Terrace Adelaide www.artgallery.sa.gov.au