My grandfather is the one hiding in the cave with his little dog, that little dog doesn’t bark. The police are looking for him because he killed a white bloke. This is near Napperby Station. They didn’t find my grandfather. Not until he was an old man, they found him making spears, but by that time he was too old, he didn’t go to jail. He was an old man, he passed away.
‘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.
In this story Doris paints several important women in her life, each of them a representation and not strictly assigned to the individual. There is Doris’ sister and herself. In a display of their resilience they are shown surrounded by an abundance of bush tucker.
In this multi-dimensional work, Doris Bush Nungarrayi has remembered her early bush life – hunting and swimming at Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff). She talks of sand hills where the young people would wander naked looking for water, “chasing” the water until they found a water hole. The young men and women would swim together and make love by the water hole. Eventually, she explains, the young people fall in love and are married.
She is also remembering the traditional tools used (and which she still makes) including kutitji (shield), kulata (spear) and kantikanti (hitting stick). As well, she has related the story of the snake and goanna. “Snake this one, eating, here, at the water. This mob over there are stabbing it with a spear. He’s trying to bite and eat that one over there. And that over there is coming to look at him, that one.
This one, he’s watching, he is, ‘ooohhh!’, sneaking up intending to bite it. That one over there … he bit him, that goanna yep, this one. Coming to here, coming through the bush to the water, ‘ooohhh!’, they see it! ‘What happened here?’ Over there, a goanna is coming along. Going, going into the bush, across the water, sneaking up to try and bite it. Yeah, this one, two men standing, over there is another, there watching all this the snake, see? And see this line … he’s slowly sneaking along it. After that, that one over there stabs him with a spear, with a spear he stabbed. Went and got that goanna and ate it, over there came and see all this mob.
Yeah, finished like that, that’s how I made this one by the water.”
‘This painting is about the way women hunt Wardapi – that sand goanna. He digs holes in the dunes, makes his nest deep inside. Many of the holes all join up. Women hunt Wardapi in the dunes by digging out the holes. Sometimes cover one, and Wardapi runs out other one. Need to hunt him together. Find all the holes. Dig them at the same time. Someone going to get him that way.’
The Wardapi Jukurrpa [Varanus Gouldii Goanna] belongs to the Spencer Sisters. It comes from Yarripilangku [aka Yinyiripalangu], south-west of Yuendumu. A group of Warlpiri Karnta [women] are sitting down in a circle when a Japangardi Wati [man] from Puturlu [Mt Theo], called Wamaru came upon them. He wants to take one of them, named Yurlkurinyi, of Nungarrayi skin, which is the wrong skin for him. He takes the Nungarrayi woman up a hill, where they make love. In response, the earth on top of the hill turns to Ngunjungunju [white ochre], and yellow and red ochre. The yellow is for Karnta and the red for Wati. The ochre is used by Warlpiri people for love magic and ceremonial decoration. The Wati turns all the Karnta and himself into Wardapi, aka Varanus Gouldii goannas. This Jukurrpa belongs to the Napaljarri/Japaljarri and Nungarrayi /Jungarrayi subsections, and the Japanangka/Napanangka, Japangardi/Napangardi subsections of Puturlu. The women are often represented by ‘U’ shapes. Concentric circles may illustrate Wardapi holes, or their droppings left behind them, and Wardapi tracks are usually represented by ‘W’ shapes and wavy lines.
‘This painting is about the way women hunt Wardapi – that sand goanna. He digs holes in the dunes, makes his nest deep inside. Many of the holes all join up. Women hunt Wardapi in the dunes by digging out the holes. Sometimes cover one, and Wardapi runs out other one. Need to hunt him together. Find all the holes. Dig them at the same time. Someone going to get him that way.’
The Wardapi Jukurrpa [Varanus Gouldii Goanna] belongs to the Spencer Sisters. It comes from Yarripilangku [aka Yinyiripalangu], south-west of Yuendumu. A group of Warlpiri Karnta [women] are sitting down in a circle when a Japangardi Wati [man] from Puturlu [Mt Theo], called Wamaru came upon them. He wants to take one of them, named Yurlkurinyi, of Nungarrayi skin, which is the wrong skin for him. He takes the Nungarrayi woman up a hill, where they make love. In response, the earth on top of the hill turns to Ngunjungunju [white ochre], and yellow and red ochre. The yellow is for Karnta and the red for Wati. The ochre is used by Warlpiri people for love magic and ceremonial decoration. The Wati turns all the Karnta and himself into Wardapi, aka Varanus Gouldii goannas. This Jukurrpa belongs to the Napaljarri/Japaljarri and Nungarrayi /Jungarrayi subsections, and the Japanangka/Napanangka, Japangardi/Napangardi subsections of Puturlu. The women are often represented by ‘U’ shapes. Concentric circles may illustrate Wardapi holes, or their droppings left behind them, and Wardapi tracks are usually represented by ‘W’ shapes and wavy lines.
Two things – tree roots used for bush medicine with flowers in the background. Mangarri is a kind of Bush Medicine. The plant roots are gathered, ground up and boiled in water. This is used on the skin. You don’t eat this one. Also, the painting has seeds used to make a necklace. The seeds are decorated with a hot wire from the fire. Women make necklaces for decoration and ceremony.
Emu looking around for water. This is a Dreaming story from my father’s country, other side of Yuendumu. Past Mandarin Station, through there and other side. Emu looking round for water, they are three waterholes. I’ve painted the country side after big rain, flowers everywhere. The emu is looking for yellow fruit to eat, with seed. The snake is in the waterholes.
‘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.
Women dancing, and the skirts they are wearing, made from their woven hair. The patterning that feature in this painting represents the swirling hair-string skirts worn by the Dancing Women Ancestors during ceremonies when women reaffirm their connections to the each of the Women’s Tjukurrpa through dance and song. The hair-string skirts are woven by the women from their own hair or that of their family using a simple spindle made of two sticks and are shown as a complex pattern of lines. The works are neat and well ordered, but free flowing, filling the canvas with the energetic forms of the women dancing in their skirts. The impact of the work mesmerises, just as the ceremonial performance works its magic. The artwork reveals both bodies moving and the inner or spiritual power, the essence of cultural identity.
Aboriginal women gathering at ceremonial or meeting places. All the women are painting and gathering together with food to prepare for ceremony. Songs and dances are exchanged often at large ceremonial gatherings when many people gather together and when trade goods are also exchanged. These gatherings often occur at the time and place when there is plenty of food. Ceremony is the underlying basis of Aboriginal song, music, dance and visual arts. Ceremony contains many significant elements some of which are specifically related to the movements and activities of Ancestral Tjukurrpa Women.