Patrick Tjungurrayi

This painting is sold with accompanying Papunya Tula Artist's documentation with descriptive notes that read: "This painting depicts designs associated with the site of Myilili, near Jupiter Well and west of the Kiwirrkura community in Western Australia. In ancestral times a large group of ancestral Tingari Men camped at this site before travelling south east to Ngarru. At Ngarru the men performed the dances and sang the songs associated with the area. Upon completion of the ceremonies at Ngarru the men continued their travels north east toward Kiwirrkura, eventually reaching Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay) via another lake site known as Pinari.

As the men travelled they drank from various water sources found amongst the rocky outcrops. These rockholes and soakages are represented by the concentric squares running through the middle of the painting. The jagged lines represent rain making designs that were painted onto the men's bodies for ceremonial purposes. Since events associated with the Tingari Cycle are of a secret nature no further detail was given.

Generally, the Tingari are a group of ancestral beings of the Dreaming who travelled over vast stretches of the country, performing rituals and creating and shaping particular sites. The Tingari men were usually followed by Tingari women and were accompanied by novices, and their travels and adventures are enshrined in a number of song cycles. These ancestral stories form part of the teachings of the post initiatory youths today as well providing explanations for contemporary customs."