Maxie Tjampitjinpa
Warlpiri people NT c.1945-1997
Flying Ants 1987
Acrylic on canvas
213.5 x 262 cm
BCEC Art Collection
Maxie Tjampitjinpa was taught to paint by Old Mick Tjakamarra, custodian of the Honey Ant Dreaming at Papunya and one of the first artists there. The artist began painting in 1981, and 3 years later won the Northern Territory Art Award. He pioneered a style of painting where dots were made using the brush end of a paintbrush (as opposed to the stick end) to create soft dots which, en masse, were deployed to evoke fire, smoke, rain or movement.
The Watunuma (Flying Ants) Dreaming at Waite Creek is celebrated in this painting. The horizontal band running across the painting indicates the flying ant ancestors beginning to swarm after rain. Short parallel bars represent the Watunuma emerging from holes in the ground – the small concentric circles. Other circles depict the flying ants’ food.
Flying Ants can be viewed in Plaza Gallery.