Tingari A5737

Year: 2005

Size: 90 x 120cm
acrylic on linen

Barney Campbell Tjakamarra was a highly revered Aboriginal elder, senior Law Man, and a vital figure in the Western Desert art movement. His paintings represent the mapping of sacred sites located in his ancestral country. 

These sites are along the journey paths of the Tingari Ancestors and were created throughout the "Tjukurrpa" or dreamtime.

The Tingari are a group of mythical people who travelled over vast stretches of the desert country.

Along their journeys, they shaped the physical topography—creating sand dunes (Tali), salt lakes, and waterholes—while establishing the sacred ceremonies and societal laws followed by the Pintupi people.

These mythologies form part of the teachings of the post initiatory youths today as well as providing explanations for contemporary customs.