Yanatjarri No. III Tjakamarra

Wapintjanya

1975

On April 2, 1975, Fred Myers documented this work. He recorded the following:

"Upper left circle is purnpatjununya (soakage), and lower right is purkulytjanya (rockhole). Center is Wapintjanya. At upper left, the men were straightening spears. An old man farted, and that gave the soakage its name. The story traces the events of a group of wayurta (possum) people from the north (Warlpiri country) chasing a pair who had eloped, from a wrong marriage. The latter sought refuge with relatives at Purnpatjununya. This is mulyarti country, the trees used in making spears, and there aren't many hills. Only one, the center circle, in the sandhills, is a big hill, Wapintjanya. The spears and spearthrowers pictured were associated with the people from the south, and these were put down so that the two groups fought at Wapintjanya with stone knives and cut each other, and the term "wapintja" refers to cutting. From putting down the spears and spearthrowers, there is now a wide belt of mulyarti around the area. The possums then went east to Yiitjurunya, to meet up with their relatives there–depicted by the additional small circle in the lower left. The possum tracks are shown coming together from two directions at Wapintjanya in the painting, the stone knives and spears and spearthrowers, and the bands of pink dots represent sandhills."

Language Groups: Pintupi and Ngaanyatjarra
Dates: 1938-1992

In 1966, Yanatjarri No. III Tjakamarra’s family journeyed from the Gibson Desert to Papunya when they were found by Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) patrols. They were one of the last Pintupi families to relocate to Papunya from their ancestral lands. In his youth, Yanatjarri worked as a gardener and was an active supporter of Pintupi people building outstations in their homelands. Yanatjarri’s works mainly focus on mens’ sacred rituals as well as depictions of Tingarri stories such as the Snake Dreaming from Kulkurta, the outstation where he lived. His painting Tingari Cycle Dreaming at Paratjakulti (1989) was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Yanatjarri was also the first Australian Aboriginal artist to have a solo exhibition in New York, at the John Weber Gallery. His second wife, Katarra Butler Napaltjarri, also painted for Papunya Tula Artists.

YANATJARRI NO. III TJAKAMARRA, Wapintjanya, 1975

Synthetic polymer paint on canvas board.
30 × 24 in. (76 × 61 cm).
Collection of Fred Myers.

Yanatjarri painting Wapintjanya, 1975.

Photo by Fred Myers.

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