Willy Tjungurrayi (born c.1930)

UNTITLED (TINGARI), 1981

synthetic polymer paint on linen

180.5 x 155.0 cm

bears inscription verso: Willie Tjungurrayi

Utopia Art, Sydney (label attached verso)
Private collection, Sydney
Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne, 14 October 2009, lot 105
Private collection, New South Wales

Papunya – Works From The 1980s, Utopia Art, Sydney, 18 August – 8 September 2001

This painting was originally purchased at a fundraising auction 1981, and although it does not have a Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd consignment number, it has been verified by Papunya Tula that the work was originally commissioned by them. The painting was sold with a letter of verification from Utopia Art Sydney together with the original field notes in the hand of Andrew Crocker, the then co-ordinator for Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd.

This work is accompanied by paperwork from Utopia Art which states:

‘This painting is a very traditional rendition of a Tingarri ceremony at a place called Karrkunya, a mountain of red ochre south / southwest of Lake Mackay in the Northern Territory.

‘Tingarri’ is a complex series of song cycles which teach aboriginal law.

The concentric circles in this painting represent the Tingarri men, the ancestral spirits who brought the ‘law’ in the Dreamtime. The lines which connect the circle represent body painting which is an important part of Tingarri ceremonies.’