Untitled
Artist:
Ningura Napurrula
(Pintupi / Australian, ca. 1938 - 2013)
Place made:Western Australia, Australia
General region:Oceania
Date: 2005
Medium: Acrylic on linen
Dimensions:
60 1/4 x 35 13/16 in. (153 x 91 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of the Lam Family
Object number: 2016.14.64
Copyright: © Ningura Napurrula / Artists Rights Society, NY
Provenance: Sold through Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, to May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam; May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam, by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2016
Label Text
The concentric circle at the center of this painting refers to the rockhole site of Wirrulunga, a sacred place where women give birth and perform ceremonies. The elongated forms originating from the top and bottom ends of the central rockhole represent the extended belly of a pregnant woman who gave birth at Wirrulunga during the Dreaming. Napurrula’s reduced palette strengthens the intensity of her design, mirroring the visual effect of ochre pigments on the skin, as is seen in ceremonial body painting. Here, the inclusion of red emphasizes the central motif and the symbolic meaning behind it.
Napurrula’s husband was Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi (Pintupi, ca. 1928–1998), one of the founders of the Papunya Tula art center and the Western Desert painting movement in the 1970s. Napurrula began painting by infilling the dotted backgrounds of her husband’s canvases, a common introduction to painting for women during that time. After his death, Napurrula developed her signature dichromatic style, which brought her international success, including the commission of a large-scale, site-specific installation at the Musée du Quai Branly, in Paris, France.
(Exhibition label, 2017)
Napurrula’s husband was Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi (Pintupi, ca. 1928–1998), one of the founders of the Papunya Tula art center and the Western Desert painting movement in the 1970s. Napurrula began painting by infilling the dotted backgrounds of her husband’s canvases, a common introduction to painting for women during that time. After his death, Napurrula developed her signature dichromatic style, which brought her international success, including the commission of a large-scale, site-specific installation at the Musée du Quai Branly, in Paris, France.
(Exhibition label, 2017)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
