TINGARI AT PALAL PALAL, 1999
Brandy Tjungurrayi
synthetic polymer paint on linen
152.0 x 183.0 cm
inscribed verso: artist's name, size, Papunya Tula Artists cat. BT9909280
Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs
The Collection of William and Lucy Mora, Melbourne
Johnson, V., Lives of the Papunya Tula Artists, IAD Press, Alice Springs, 2008, p. 374 (illus.)
This painting is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, which reads in part: 'This painting depicts designs associated with Palal Palal, a place with no water, west of Jupiter Well. In mythological times a group of Tingari Men and Women travelled from Christmas Creek to this site. After resting at the site they continued their journey to Ngarru, then turned east to Kiwirrkura and then on to Lake Mackay.'
Brandy Tjungurrayi was born in the bush, probably near Jupiter Well, around 1930. As a senior and knowledgable lawman, he paints stories - mainly Tingari Cycle stories and Emu Dreaming stories - connected to his home country around Nyilla (Jupiter Well). Formally, his paintings are elegant, linear compositions comprised of fine dotting run together to create lines, often broadly symmetrical and sometimes converging on a central point in the canvas.
Brandy started painting in 1985 at Balgo Hills but also spends time painting at the community of Kiwirrkura, where many of his relatives live. His work is diverse in composition and reflects at times the painting styles and palette of both communities. He had his first solo exhibition with William Mora Aboriginal Art in 2000 and he was one of the Kiwirrkura artists commissioned to create the Men's Painting exhibited at the acclaimed retrospective Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2000.