PINTYRALYNGA, 1979

Private Exhibition of Important Aboriginal Art
Melbourne
11 October 2011
46

MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI

(c.1926 - 1998)
PINTYRALYNGA, 1979

synthetic polymer paint on canvas-board

51.0 x 40.5 cm

Papunya Tula Artists certificate attached verso, with the artist's name, cat. MN790620 and a diagram with identifying annotations

Provenance

Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs
Private collection, Melbourne

Catalogue text

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Papunya Tula Artists which states: 'The mythological site celebrated in this depiction is Pintyralynga, located far to the west of Alice Springs, approximately 80 kilometres east of the Northern Territory- Western Australian border. Pintyralynga is associated with the mythological travels of the Kiyurru or mulga-seed people. The Kiyurru ancestors are conceived as sharing many vegetable and human characteristics. It is believed that the correct maintenance and ceremonial celebration of the sites with which the seeds are associated will ensure good supplies of this important food throughout the area. In traditional times the seeds were collected and ground to make a nutritious damper. The sets of concentric circles represent centres of the Kiyurru ancestors associated with this site, while the short parallel bars symbolise the plants' branches. The red background dots represent the ripe or'cooked seeds' while the yellow dots indicate immature seeds, not yet ready for collecting.