Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri
Pintupi people NT/WA c.1926-1998
Nyunman 1987
Acrylic on linen
213 x 212 cm
BCEC Art Collection
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri was a founding artist of the Papunya Tula art movement and a leading figure in Western Desert painting. Born at Marnpi, his family lived a traditional lifestyle and remembered the patrols that moved through the desert to relocate Pintupi people into government settlements. He developed a distinctive style marked by precision, restraint and rhythmic line.
The Dingo Dreaming site of Nyunman, to the south-east of the Kintore community, is represented in this work. In mythological times a dingo family was living at this place. Each day the parents would go hunting to get food for the pups who were left behind in the hole in which they had made their camp. The roundel represents the site and the straight lines on either side of the roundel show the creek bed. The background dots represent the sandhills at the side.
Nyunman can be viewed in Plaza Gallery.