Yunala

This painting depicts designs associated with the rockhole site of Yunala, west of the Kiwirrkura Community. The sinuous lines signify the bush carrot plant which produce edible tubers beneath the ground. The presence of the tuber can be identified by detecting a similar patterning in the sand. The artist’s signature finger-like patterns depict the distinctive spiralling stem at the top of the plant. A group of Tingari Men camped at Yunala gathering these tubers before continuing their travels to Lake Mackay. Since events associated with the Tingari Cycle are of a secret nature no further detail was given. Generally, the Tingari are a group of ancestors 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 accompanied by novices and their travels and adventures are enshrined in a number of song cycles.

 

Adrian Jurra Tjungurrayi was born in 1981 in Derby, Western Australia. Adrian is the son of the much-revered late Papunya Tula artist, Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri, and Mary Nungabar, also a Papunya Tula artist. Adrian spends his time living between the communities of Kiwirrkura and Paunya with his wife and children. He often paints the site Yunala, having taken on the responsibility from his late father.