Ngurra Tjalaku

$600.00

In this work, Bonnie Connelly paints a Tjukurpa story about a man who was hunting out near Kaltukatjara, the community where she now lives. Bonnie depicts the caves that are found just through the gap in the big mountain ranges, where women go digging for honey ants.

Bonnie uses a dry brush to apply colour in travelling formations across the canvas, evoking the textured desert landscape where she has spent her life. Bonnie was born near Papulankutja (Blackstone) in the Ngaanyatjarra lands and has spent time travelling widely across this region. Her paintings draw heavily on her strong cultural history, geographic knowledge, and extensive network of familial relations throughout the desert.

Bonnie Connelly was born in Illurpa, a place near Papulankutja. When she was young her mother took her to Pukatja (Ernabella), later they moved to Angus Downs and then Mutitjulu. Bonnie’s father passed away in Alintjarra. She has a lot of family in Warakurna and in Papulankutja. Bonnie’s father’s country is Papulankutja. Bonnie is now an elderly grandmother and strong cultural woman. She has been painting for many years and has passed her knowledge and skills down to her daughters, Dianne and Marlene, who now paint for Kaltukatjara Art.