Weekendin Singapore Nov '13 | Issue 08 | Page 86

intheART intheART Warlimpirringa TJAPALTJARRI George TJUGURRAYI Ronnie TJAMPITJINPA Warlimpirringa TJAPALTJARRI A Collection of Works George Tjungurrayi, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa & Warlimpirringa Tjapaltjarri The ReDot Fine Art Gallery is proud to welcome back the beautiful works from Australia’s foremost Aboriginal owned art centre, Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd. This exhibition will represent the 10th annual showing in Singapore of the stunning work by the desert masters. Location ReDot Fine Art Gallery 39 Keppel Road Gallery 9 Unit #01-05 This year’s show, simply titled after the 3 men showing George Tjungurrayi, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa & Warlimpirringa Tjapaltjarri (A Collection of Works), brings together the finest body of works amassed for many a year from the company’s most senior law-men, linked by the culture and myths of their joint custodial stories. The three artists have a strong link to their country and their works have become synonymous with the beautiful landscapes of the areas around both Kintore and Kiwirrkurra, the two spiritual painting homes of the artists of PapuExhibition launch nya Tula. Ronnie has been involved in the PaWednesday 23 October punya Tula Movement from the very origins in and closes Saturday 30 November 2013 1971 and was celebrated in the recent Tjukurrtjanu Board shows at both the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne and the Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris and both George and Warlimpirringa, whom had first white contact in the mid-1980’s in what has become known as the famous last first contact experience, have carved equally impressive careers over the 40 or so years the company has now been in operation. Weekendin 84 These artists, together with other Pintupi men and women, are the custodians of important sacred sites relating to the Tingari Song Cycle and the works epitomise this highly recognised execution method. The Tingari people were a group of ancestral beings who travelled over vast areas of the Western Desert, performing rituals and creating or “opening up” the country. They were usually accompanied by recently-initiated novices to whom they provided ceremonial instruction relating to the cultural law of the region. At the many sites that make up these songlines, groups of Tingari people held ceremonies, experienced adversity and had adventures, in the course of which they either created or became the physical features of the sites involved. The oral narratives that describe these adventures stretch to thousands of verses, and provide countless topographical details that would assist nomadic bands to navigate and survive in the arid landscape. See the work of some of Australia’s most celebrated Aboriginal mens and learn more about their ancestral stories. The roundels, lines and interlocking designs embedded in their paintings tell you of these ancient rituals. Soft natural colours, bold secretive brush movements and traditional iconography all act to preserve the sacred and important stories of Australia’s Western Desert Art movement. The exhibition opened on the 23rd October and runs till Saturday 30th November 2013. It is a must see for anyone interested in following the development of Papunya Tula Artists, one of the Aboriginal art movements most important art centres. Ronnie TJAMPITJINPA 85 Weekendin