"Among the exhibitions I would single
out are Kapi Ungkupayi / He gave us Water at the SASA gallery,
an exhibition with special magic. It tells a new dreaming story (tjukurpa) of a
recent journey made by a group of women and shows their resourcefulness and
reliance on the old stories and knowledge, as well as on God, in a frank and
disarming manner. Even before you enter the gallery, you see small tjanpi
(spinifex) birds in the window announcing the intense animation and energy
inside. Then there are tjanpi goannas, the painted side of a car, small
portraits of the desert finches who showed where the “holy water” was, and
something new - tjanpi frames on the acrylic paintings flanking the
storytelling installation. Curiously, the cloud made of strung-together gumnuts
painted blue resonated as a positive echo of Yhonnie Scarce’s cloud Thunder
Raining Poison of blown glass yams memorialising nuclear testing at
Maralinga in the survey show at the Art Gallery of South Australia. " - Stephanie Radok, Artlink Magazine
"Two stories stood out for me in the long weekend of Tarnanthi's
opening – 23 venues potentially to visit, more than 350 artists represented.
One was intentionally featured; one was shared by an artist who just couldn't
leave the meaning of his artwork to be guessed at. Both encompassed
contemporary dramas that linked to mythological stories, both ended with a
political message, and both required art to achieve their sharing.
At the SASA Gallery of UniSA, 'Kapi
Ungkupayi/He Gave Us Water' filled
the room. An installation and film encompassed car-body parts, kids painting
birdlife, Tjanpi woven animals and paintings by five women elders from
Irrunytju (and its new Minyma Kutjara arts centre) who were 'lost' out in the
desert for five days with temperatures soaring into the 50s when their Toyota
ran out of both water and fuel. The SASA Gallery is run by Mary Knights, a
former facilitator at Irrunytju and a reliable retailer of their story – which
they have insisted in the catalogue is “an important story, a new tjukurpa
(dreaming story) about our culture, our faith and our relationship with our
land”.
As the old women sat beneath a tree, they knew their Country and its water sources – but the only one they could reach on foot was dry. Native tobacco was chewed, a ngintaka (perentie) caught and cooked – but they needed water. One old lady (Mrs Woods) was frail and, after receiving warnings of its imminence from encroaching dingoes, has subsequently died. So they simply couldn't walk any distance. Sometimes they sung tjukurpa, and on Sunday they sang hymns.
As the old women sat beneath a tree, they knew their Country and its water sources – but the only one they could reach on foot was dry. Native tobacco was chewed, a ngintaka (perentie) caught and cooked – but they needed water. One old lady (Mrs Woods) was frail and, after receiving warnings of its imminence from encroaching dingoes, has subsequently died. So they simply couldn't walk any distance. Sometimes they sung tjukurpa, and on Sunday they sang hymns.
Did that cause a
cloud to appear – for the 'He' of the title is, in fact, their
Christian god? Or did the tjukurpa encourage a cloud of desert finches to
appear, heralding an unseen water source. The women dug feverishly where they'd
settled, and a metre down they reached brackish – holy – water. It was such an
epic story, they were actually reluctant to leave when rescued. It certainly
was a story to be told when Tarnanthi invited their contribution.
So the women
painted and wove, Mrs Woods and Roma Butler contributing significant canvases;
local kids added a flight of painted finches to show they'd learnt survival
lessons from the story; unusual portraits of the now-legendary participants
were created; a film recorded the Country and the new tjukurpa that was created
and sung to tell this tale; and Adelaide, at least, has an understanding of
“the close and interconnected relationships between our culture and our
Country”. For Irrunytju/Wingellina is one of the 192 remote communities in
Western Australia deemed 'unsustainable' by its government, and living there on
Country a 'lifestyle choice' by our former PM.
The rest of
Australia may gain a lesser understanding via the delightful YouTube film of
last April's 'Wingellina
Protest' against closure of their community." - Jeremy Eccles, Aboriginal Art Directory
wonderful start to @TARNANTHI Kapi Ungkupayi / He gave us
water at SASA Gallery #Adelaide
#tarnanthi
- Julie Lomax, Director Visual Arts at Australia Council for the Arts
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