Untitled
1972
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on composition board
Measurements
67.7 × 46.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of ICI Australia Ltd, Fellow, 1988
© The Artist/Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Limited
Gallery location
Not on display
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Papunya, Northern Territory
Inscription
inscribed (inverted) in fibre-tipped pen on reverse c.r.: 150 (...illeg)
Accession Number
O.10-1988
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Physical description
The circular configuration crossed by linear bars signifies the important site of Yumari in the artist’s mother country, as identified by Bobby West Tjupurrula. The site is associated with the story of the old man Yina, who is punished for copulating illicitly with his mother-in-law at Yumarinya (mother-in-law place). His body when lying down formed an X-shaped rockhole at Yumari, a shape which articulates a physical landscape form and an ancestral body. Concentric circles depict sit-down sites where people rested, which are linked by straight journey line motifs, showing that there has been much travelling by many people. The patterned motifs to the right are ground paintings. The design has a raw vitality and visual power achieved through a use of intense pattern with dotting.