George Tjungurrayi (born c.1943)

UNTITLED (TINGARI PAINTING), 1977

synthetic polymer paint on cotton duck

166.0 x 50.0 cm

bears inscription verso: Papunya Tula Artists cat. GJ77535

Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Aboriginal Arts and Crafts, Sydney
The Collectors Gallery of Aboriginal Art, Sydney
Private collection, Sydney, acquired from the above in 1978

Pintubi Paintings, The Collectors Gallery of Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 20 April – 15 May 1978 cat. 12

This painting is accompanied by the exhibition notes and catalogue list of works from Aboriginal Arts and Crafts together with a certificate of authenticity from Papunya Tula Artists that states in part: ‘Numpurnga is a hill standing in the middle of a large salt-lake, at a long a undetermined distance North west of Sandy Blight Junction which is almost due west of Alice Springs approximately 450 kilometres.

The hill is depicted by the lower series of concentric circles (large). The other large concentric circles represent caves near which old men (Horse-shoe shapes) are seated. The smaller circles are the camps of men who are engaged in the ceremony celebrating the activities of the Tingari men. The linking bars indicate that these camps of men were ceremonially linked with the corroboree activities.