Alice Nampitjinpa Dixon, Tali Tali - Sandhills, 183x77cm

This painting shows the artist’s Tjukurrpa, the Tali Tali Dreaming. It refers to the vast and desolate sandhills of her country near Taalalpi, which is located beyond the Kintore/Kiwikurra road near the West Australian and Northern Territory border. This is the country where her father and mother used to travel by foot when she was a young girl. The place is still of great spiritual significance to Alice and her father’s family as it contains both, personal and tribal law to which Alice relates in her work. Water has collected in between the sandhills, providing sustenance for her porcupine. The tjikamamta (porcupine) is Alice’s own personal tjukurrpa (dreaming). She returned to her country for a visit in late 2005.

Alice was born in 1943 near Talaalpi, which is a swamp near and a little bit to the east of Walungurru on the Western Australian border. Prior to her painting Alice worked for many years at the Kintore School teaching the young girls dancing and the traditions of the desert people. Alice started painting on the “Minyama Tjukurrpa” – the Kintore Haasts Bluff collaborative canvas project. As a painter she is inspired by her rich cultural heritage, and thrives when involved with her stories and lore. Alice is an active “dancing woman” who travels widely to participate in annual ceremonies and “Women’s Law” meetings. Alice’s tjukurrpa is the porcupine or Tjilkamata. Her story is told in bright colours often utilizing orange and yellow to mirror the ochres that are used in ceremonial body painting. In her tjukurrpa story there is often the porcupine scurrying about rock holes and hiding places looking for tucker while nearby the women are themselves hunting, laying in wait for the porcupine. Alice is a keen hunter and likes to go hunting with Eunice Jack. Alice’s father was the late Uta Uta Tjangala, who was one of the original Papunya Tula painters. His Tjukurrpa is Pungkalungka at Takpalangu. Pungkalungka’s are dangerous, and sometimes kill and eat people. They live in huge caves in the hills. Alice only paints the entrance to the caves to signify the unknown danger of the monster that dwells within. Her father’s country is Ngurrapalangu, and her tjukurrpa has passed to her from this place – the porcupine was travelling through the sand hills and passing near the two carpet snakes, kuniya kutjarra, who were living underneath the water. Alice also enjoys the other crafts and is involved in producing hand-spindled hairstring for ceremonies and ininti necklaces and mats. She regularly goes out bush to collect ininti seeds then laboriously pierces them with hot wire to make beads for necklaces, bracelets or mats.

A lot of stories are still being recounted of long journeys of people from various language groups, who travelled from rockholes and waterholes to caves and mountains finally arriving at Haasts Bluff. The locals, Luritja people of Haasts Bluff, were already here. Thus Haasts Bluff is a community rich of diversity in language and culture.

Ikuntji Artists was first established in 1992, after a series of workshops with Melbourne artist Marina Strocchi, and under the influence of the then community president, the late Esther Jugadai. The art centre was initially set up to fulfil the role of women’s centre providing services such as catering for old people and children in the community. After first experiences made in printing T-shirts, the artists began producing acrylic paintings on linen and handmade paper, which quickly gained the attention of the Australian and international art world as well as earning the centre an impressive reputation for fine art. The focus changed from a women’s centre to an art centre in 2005 with the incorporation of the art centre as Ikuntji Artists Aboriginal Corporation.

The artists draw their inspiration from their personal ngurra (country) and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming). They interpret the ancestral stories by using traditional symbols, icons and motifs. The artistic repertoire of Ikuntji Artists is diverse and includes for example: naive as well as highly abstract paintings told by each artist in their personal signature style. Throughout the 21 years of its existence the art movement in Ikuntji has flourished and constantly left its mark in the fine art world. At the same time the art centre has been the cultural hub of the community, maintaining, reinforcing and reinvigorating cultural practices through art-making.

Today Ikuntji Artists has eight key artists, who exhibit in Australia and internationally. They are represented in major collections across the globe.

Text: Melanie Greiner, Alison Multa and Dr Chrischona Schmidt