Francie Ingkatji, Wanampi Tjukurrpa, 51x40cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Francie Ingkatji
• Community - Ernabella
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Iwiri Arts 
• Catalogue number - 391-22 
• Materials - Acrylic paint on canvas
• Size(cm) - H50 W40 D3
• Artwork note - The edges of this work have been artist painted. See image.
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

Wanampi is the Pitjantjatjara word meaning water serpent, water snake monster, or rainbow serpent. This is a story from Piltati, near Nyapari (on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara - APY - Lands in the remote north-west of South Australia). There's a special rock hole at Piltati where this creation story takes place. There are two wait (men), brothers and their wives. There's trickery and conflict, and the men change themselves into wanampi (water snakes). The story tells how the land was shaped and formed. The Wanampi ancestors are important to Anangu as they bring rain and life to the waterholes but the Wanampi can also kill intruders, taking their spirit.

Francie was born in Alice Springs and grew up in Ernabella. Francie's father, Gordon Ingkatji, was Ernabella's 'number one' storyteller and well-known artist. Francie first started painting with him at Nyapari before they moved to Ernabella. Francie is determined to continue her father’s legacy and follow in his artistic footsteps. Francie now lives in Ernaballa and paints at Iwiri when she's in Adelaide.

Iwiṟi was established by Aṉangu in 2018, many of whom had been forced to move to Adelaide due to chronic health conditions and lack of services in their home communities. Living far from their traditional homelands, Anangu were concerned about the cultural and social isolation they were experiencing and saw a need to act.  Iwiri was formed initially to help retain, promote and transmit Anangu culture and language through the areas of arts, language, knowledge and community. Since then Iwiṟi has grown rapidly into an organization that delivers a range of programs that aim to strengthen and advance Aṉangu wellbeing.

Iwiri strengthens the Aṉangu community through cultural and arts activities, creating employment opportunities and enterprise development. We want our young people to be strong in their language and culture and to take up opportunities to work in our community.

We take great pride in offering high-quality, authentic Aboriginal Art pieces to you. However, we are aware that there have been instances (and recent press relating to the unaffiliated APYACC) in the Aboriginal Art market where the authenticity of some artworks has been called into question. We want to assure you and all of our customers that we firmly stand behind the authenticity of every artwork we sell.

In addition to our extended 120 days standard returns, we are pleased to offer a lifetime money-back authenticity guarantee to all customers who purchase Aboriginal Art from us, both past and present. This guarantee covers any disrepute or wrongdoing in association with the authenticity of any Aboriginal artwork sold by ART ARK®. We understand that purchasing authentic Aboriginal Art is important to you, and we want to provide you with peace of mind in knowing that they are getting what you paid for.

As part of our commitment to authentic Aboriginal Art, we work with reputable Aboriginal Art centres that we know are committed to maintaining the integrity of Aboriginal Art. Additionally, we continually monitor all aspects of the Aboriginal Art market and are acutely aware of, and are proactive in addressing any issues arising.

We take the authenticity of Aboriginal Art seriously and are committed to providing you with high-quality and genuine works of art. If you have any concerns about the authenticity of any art piece you purchased from us, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will investigate further. If we find any wrongdoing or disrepute in regards to the provenance or authenticity of any artwork we have sold we will happily provide a full refund to you at any time in the future outside of our standard returns policy. 

Thank you for choosing ART ARK® for your Aboriginal Art purchasing. We are honoured to provide you with authentic, high-quality art pieces and look forward to continuing to serve you.