Katrina Tjitayi, Pukara Tjukurpa, 120x91cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Katrina Tjitayi
• Community - Ernabella
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Ernabella Arts
• Catalogue number - 667-26
• Materials - Professional artist acrylic on canvas
• Size(cm) - H120 W91 D2
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

Pukara is Katrina’s grandfather’s country and a significant sacred site where Kaliny-kalinypa (Honey Grevillea) is found. The Tjukurpa for Pukara is of a father and son who were both wanampi (water snakes). They had lived at Pukara, a place with a big rockhole, for a long time with other families. There was lots of water in the rockhole. The son wanted to play with the other children there, but they always teased him, saying his eyes were too big. This made the boy very upset. The boy and his father eventually travelled west, and when they left, the rockhole almost dried up, with only a little bit of water left. The other families stayed and survived there with the small amount of water. One day, when the boy had become a man, he and his father returned to Pukara. The son was still upset and angry at the children who had teased him. He wanted to punish them, so he turned into a wanampi and swung his head around to hit them. All of the families ran away in fear. The father and son went into the rockhole, and they still live there now. The Kaliny-kalinypa growing at Pukara is a favourite bush food of Anangu. The flowers can be picked and placed in a billycan of water to make honey water (cordial), or sucked for their sweet honeydew.

Katrina was born and went to school in Ernabella. Her mother was one of the first Ananguteachers at Ernabella Anangu School in the 1940s. On leaving school Katrina studied at Uni SA through the AnTEP program, obtaining a Bachelor of Education. She has worked in Anangu education for more than 20 years including as the Anangu School Improvement Coordinator. She first began painting at the art centre in late 2016, working initially in painting and then trying her hand at ceramic art too. Her work has been exhibited around Australia and overseas, including Sydney, Alice Springs, Darwin, Broome, Mittagong, and Brussels, Belgium. Katrina is a mother to two children and a strong advocate for children’s rights. She is a published author including as co-presenter and writer of 'Red Dirt Curriculum: Re-imagining Remote Education', presented as part of the Sidney Myer Rural Lecture series in 2013. In 2018 she won the 2018 Aunty Josie Agius Award for her work as the Wellbeing Coordinator, her current position at Ernabella Anangu School.