Spinifex 2024: Exceptional Artwork from Tjuntjuntjarra
Past exhibition
Lennard Walker Australian, Pitjantjara, b. 1946
Kulyuru, 2024
acrylic on linen
137 x 140 cm
24-180
Lennard Walker dives easily into his depiction of the significant site of Kulyuru, situated in the northeastern area of the Great Victoria Desert. As well as being a physically majestic...
Lennard Walker dives easily into his depiction of the significant site of Kulyuru, situated in the northeastern area of the Great Victoria Desert. As well as being a physically majestic deep rocky gorge that holds a large water source, it also forms part of the Kungarangkalpa Tjukurpa (Seven Sisters Creation Line). This is a far reaching narrative that traverses great swaths of Spinifex Country as it follows the journey of a group of young women as they evade the lustful pursuit of an older man, Wati Nyiru. Nyiru has the metamorphic powers of transformation and is constantly tricking the women on their travels. At Kulyuru, the women see the tracks of a prized food- a Kunyia (woma python) and begin vigorously digging for it. They eventually dig the rock hole and gorge before finally spearing the snake with a digging stick, only to find after catching, cooking and ingesting the snake, that it was Nyiru all along. The women then make their escape to nearby Minyma Ngampi where they paint up for ceremony to complete their journey with sacred dancing. They then make their ultimate escape by flying up into the sky to become the Pleiades star cluster. In this composition, Lennard places the Wana (digging stick) that the women used to spear the kunyia (Nyiru) in plain sight.