Yes, Yankaltjunku (the painting), I did it. Mrs Davies. It's about my own country and I did it myself. Raylene, when she was a little girl helped me - by doing all up and down the sides, and that big river and stones.
They speared each other, the emu and the turkey, because they wanted the kampurarrpa (bush raisins) and food. And ngarltujarra (poor thing), the big one followed him and they speared each other near the water hole. They chased him and kept following him and speared each other and they both fell, towards the south they fell. The turkey and emu - at Tjalypilypipirti that they fell. And towards the west by the way of Tinawalytja that they fell. Yes it is true. And the two, these ones speared each other and they died and are lying there. Yes they continually speared each other. The children got up. Having got up they ran towards that cave. The children ran to that cave, and hid in the cave.
That canvas belongs to the community. Yes, that is in our grandmother's place, our grandmother's, uncle's, aunt's and father's place where we were doing it… So I have done it, so that the children coming after, those who are being born now can know I have done this about my grandparents place.
They have all gone, my grandmothers and my uncles and my grandfathers. Their culture is what we are doing on the canvas. We are doing it for the community so they can come and see this from a different country. They come to see it. We were doing this and now today it is finished.
We did it, where was it from? From Kurrkaturtu a long time ago, we were doing it on the ground, on cloths spread out and those two made artefacts. And we were still doing it on the floor. We were doing it in the painting room. There were lots of us doing these. And I alone kept on doing it… And I have done it about the culture, country and the place where our grandmothers danced and now have passed away.
Yes it's true. I have done this one about my grandfather's country. I did it the wrong way. With pink, I did it my own way, with grey, pink, black, yellow, green, grass, orange, it's all there, blue, and I had do it. I thought it out by myself.
Mrs P. Davies talking about her painting that is held in the Warburton Arts Collection: Inventory No WAC 039(L) P. Davies Yankaltjunkunya 1991 Acrylic on canvas 4160 x 1875mm
Adapted from a translation from the Ngaanyatjarra by Herbert Howell, 1992.
| |
Tjingapa Davies with Mrs Bates' Kungkarrangkalpa painting at Wilurampal
P. Davies Yankaltjunkunya 1991 Acrylic on canvas 4160 x 1875mm
|
;)
;)