Yanatjarri No. III Tjakamarra

Women's Dreaming near Kiwirrkura

1989

As the ancestral Tingarri men crossed the desert, they were followed by a group of women and children. The women camped nearby because they were not permitted to see the Tingarri ceremonies. Their actions at these sites created women’s Tjukurrpa and ceremonies practiced today. Some of these sites are restricted to women only, but others can be visited and painted by both men and women, as the three paintings on this wall attest. The long oblong shapes in this painting represent ceremonial objects associated with these women.

Ngaminya is here; close up, on the side of the road. The Tingarri Women cooked kampurarrpa for the young people, so the women made this place Kampurarrpa Tjukurrpa.

Rungkani, Tjamu Kapalilu, Mamaku yunkupayi. Pulingka marulu kaputunku ngayuku, tjamuku. (My descendants ground kampurarrpa. They were always giving food).

JOSEPH JURRA TJAPALTJARRI

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 Kulkuta, 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, Women's Dreaming near Kiwirrkura, 1989

Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. 71 1/2 x 48 1/16 in. (181.6 x 122.1 cm). Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997. 1990.7024.001.

Fred Myers with Yanatjarri No.III Tjakamarra and Shorty Bruno Tjangala, Yayayai, 1974.

Photo by Es Giddy.

Yanatjarri No.III Tjakamarra painting the work Wapintjanya (1975).

Photo by Fred Myers.

Yanatjarri No.III Tjakamarra at Kintore, 1988.

Photo by Fred Myers.

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