Yunala (from Tjukurrpa Palurukutu, Kutjupawana Palyantjanya: same stories a new way)

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Yunala (from Tjukurrpa Palurukutu, Kutjupawana Palyantjanya: same stories a new way)

Artist Ray James Tjangala (Australian, Pintupi, b. ca. 1958)

Publisher Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd

Printer Firebox Print Studio (Dian Darmansjah)

Place of OriginAustralia, Western Desert

Date2009

DimensionsSheet: H: 21 5/8 in. (55 cm); W: 17 11/16 in. (45 cm)

MediumPrint, etching on Hahnemuhle rag paper

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Sara Jane DeHoff

Object number

2013.185Q

Not on View

Label TextThis etching relates to the soakage water site of Yunala, west of the Kiwirrkura community in Western Australia. In ancestral times a large group of Tingari Men camped at this site before continuing their travels further east to Pinari, north-west of the Kintore Community. While at Yunala they gathered the edible roots of the bush banana or silky pear vine Marsdenia australis, also known as yunala, which is plentiful in the region. The designs in the work represent body paint worn by the men during ceremonies relating to Yunala. Since events associated with the Tingari Cycle are of a secret nature no further detail was given. Generally, the Tingari are a group of ancestral beings of the Dreaming who travelled over vast stretches of the country, performing rituals and creating and shaping particular sites. The Tingari men were usually followed by Tingari women and were accompanied by novices, and their travels and adventures are enshrined in a number of song cycles. These ancestral stories form part of the teachings of the post initiatory youths today as well as providing explanations for contemporary customs.Exhibition History

Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Papunya Tula: Works on Paper, December 13, 2012 – March 24, 2013.