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Four Dreamings
‘This is Petermann Range near Kaltukatjara – that’s Docker River [Community]. Puta Puta, Tjunti, Muliati. This is my father’s Country’.
Carbiene’s father was Snowy McDonald. He, like many other Pintupi-Pitjantjatjara people eventually moved east and north to refuges such as the Lutheran Mission at Ernabella, and Areyonga, during difficult drought times about 60-70 years ago. Some even ended up in Papunya once it opened as a Government Reserve in the early 1960s, as was the case of Carbiene’s father.
The shapes Carbiene paints represent an abstracted form of a series of important waterholes through the Petermann Ranges. Some of these sacred places now also have small Family Outstations or Homelands established nearby. For example, Tjunti is the name of a family outstation named for a soakage where the Hull River cuts through the Petermann Ranges. This is where Lasseter took refuge during his ill-fated expedition in search of gold. The cave he was found in near Tjunti is called Kuḻpi Tjuntinya (now commonly called Lasseter’s Cave in English).
The Petermann Ranges have now been designated an area of Conservation significance and the government work closely with local families in managing the area.
Carbiene is a Papunya Tjupi artist, having joined Papunya Tjupi Art Centre in 2018 and launching his career along with a cohort of emerging young male artists. Papunya is 250km West of Alice Springs, and when Carbiene visits Alice Springs he paints with Tangentyere Artists. Tangentyere Artists and Papunya Tjupi have a good working relationship, with several artists from each art centre coming from the same families. Tangentyere Artists’ figurative painter Betty Conway is Carbiene’s Aunty and Carbiene stops at Betty’s when in town.
