MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI

Painted by the artist for Geoffrey Bardon in Sydney in January/February 1978
Mr Geoffrey Bardon
Private collection

Bardon, G. and Bardon J., Papunya, A Place made after the Story; The Beginnings of the Western Desert Paintings Movement, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Publishing, 2004, p.252 Ptg.174 illus.

Painted in poster paint on a sheet of chipboard the pigments appear in vibrant and stable condition, there are some minor chips missing as a result of cutting along the edges of the board. There appears to be no repairs or restoration.
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In the chapter devoted to 'Fire, Spirit, Myth and Medicine Paintings', Bardon discussed this work as follows: "Two brothers are looking for fruit in trees. The wind blows down much fruit so that they are very happy. The central bulls'-eye is their resting place that night. This was one of the paintings Mick Namarari did for me at my parents' home at Randwick in Sydney and it was completed at the same time he did the series of paintings for the film Mick and The Moon. There are many travellingplaces shown in the story and the tracks weave through the painting to each resting place and campfire as the story is told. The black background along the edge is the wind. Tracks of Kangaroo spirit beings across the same territory and the naive figurations of the two brothers show them wearing ceremonial hats for the ceremony." (ibid)