This is an artwork about birds and their chicks. Carlene often paints birds, as tjulpu tjukurpa (bird dreaming) is related to her family’s country which is near Kanypi in the Western APY Lands. As a mother of several children, family themes are common in Carlene’s work. People call her Tjulpu Thompson, and she says ‘like I did with my children, I now raise chicks every day on canvas and in clay in my work’.
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Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
Kampurarpa are bush tomatoes. Elizabeth’s work comments on the environmental change that has occurred on her country due to the introduction of non-native fauna such as cattle, and flora, notably weeds like buffel grass. Buffel grass is so widespread and destructive that it is commonly known in and around Pukatja as tjanpi mamu or devil grass.
From the very start of Elizabeth’s artistic practice she has drawn her kampurarpa tjukurpa (bush tomato story) in clay. In the old times kampurarpa were one of the main foods for Anangu.
I’ve seen the land change. We used to have a lot of flowers. We used to go out to the bush to collect bush tucker, like kampurarpa (bush tomatoes). And now there’s a lot of buffel grass everywhere. The land is changed by the buffel grass. Now there’s no more flowers – no purple flowers, yellow flowers, white or pink flowers. I’ve seen it. When all the cattle and the sheep and the goats came, the kangaroos left and went a long way away. They saw the strange animals and they left. That’s a true story.
Today, sometimes we still go out and collect kampurarpa but not like we did before. Our country has been changed by cattle and weeds like buffel grass, so we can’t find all the old foods like we once did. I’ll keep telling the kampurarpa story in my work, that keeps the stories, songs and dances about these important foods alive and strong.
This is a story of how life was before. It’s a beautiful landscape without problems like we have today. There were no problems then, people were happy. They were connected as families. It shows what life was like for our people in the past before we had houses. Everything was silent, and all the animals were close by to the people. Everyone looked after the animals and the environment. People don’t have that life anymore.
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.