Watiya Tjuta by Mitjili Napurrula

Mitjili paints her fathers Tjukurrpa, the ceremonial spear straightening in Uwalkari country (Gibson desert region). The Watiya Tjuta (acacia trees) are the trees that are used to make these spears. Uwalkari country is abundant with Watiya Tjuta, as well as sand hills and other plants.

This story was passed down to her by her mother; she remembers, “After I got married, my mother taught me my father’s Tjukurrpa in the sand, that’s what I’m painting on the canvas”. Mitjili and her brother Tjupurrula both inherited the right to paint works related to Ilyingaungau in the Gibson Desert. This site, south of Walungurru (Kintore), some 520kms west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), is where the artist’s Mutikatjirri ancestors assembled their kulata (spears) for a conflict with the Tjukula men.

Allusive works that refer to the straightening of Kulata by Tjupurrula are among the landmark paintings of the Ikuntji Artists movement’s 30-year history. The abstract forms that refer to the spearwood trees, the tightly structured patterning of the key motifs and bold use of colour demonstrates the artist’s confidence in her individual artistic vision– and the cultural heritage that continues to inform the myriad expressions of Western Desert artists.

“This story was passed down to her by her mother; she remembers, “After I got married, my mother taught me my father’s Tjukurrpa in the sand, that’s what I’m painting on the canvas”. ”