CLIFFORD POSSUM TJAPALTJARRI - DINGO DREAMING

 CLIFFORD POSSUM TJAPALTJARRI
DINGO DREAMING AT NAPPERBY STATION (POSSUM DREAMING),  1993
180 x 127 cm
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Belgian Linen
 
PROVENANCE
Karinyarra -Mt Wedge, Tjuirri -Napperby Station
Commissioned by Des Rogers Fine Art, VICPrivate Collection, VICPrivate Collection, NSW 
 
STORY
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was one of the founders of the modern Aboriginal desert art movement. In this painting, created during his mature phase as an artist shows the artist's genius in telling a part of a Dreamtime mythical narrative, and overlaying this story with an image of the artist's grandfather as he hunts in this same country.The ancient Possum ancestor: Upamburra, who was the intimately involved in the creation of this, the artist's homeland, for which he is, as its senior custodian, responsible. Upamburraā€™s paw prints in white sit on either side of a wavy line that represents the trail made by the possum as he drags his tail through the lush desert landscape. This trail remains to this day as a feature in the landscape. The desert is covered in flowering bushes and wild bush berries. The human tracks in the painting represent the artist's grandfather. These lead more specifically to the bush berries. Also seen in the painting are symbols representing the artist's body paint design, which is worn by all Tjapaltjarri men (his kinship brothers and grandfathers).  It is specific to this clan's country and symbolises their connection to this place. The radiating concentric circles represent specific sites in this country, far from the reaches of the outside world.
 
EXHIBITED
Desert Winter Dreaming, June 2012, Coo-ee Art GalleryAIAM100.com Exhibition Launch , August 2010, Coo-ee Art GalleryBlack Art White Walls ā€“ The Anne and Adrian Newstead CollectionGrace Cossington Smith Gallery January ā€“ March 2014Wagga Wagga Art Gallery April-June 2014Moree Plains Gallery January -May 2015Burrinja Gallery, Upwey, Victoria July-Sept 2015Counihan Gallery, Moreland, Victoria, October ā€“ November 2015Caloundra Regional Gallery Jan ā€“ February 2016 O Tempo Dos Sonhos ā€“  The Time of DreamingCAIXAS Cultural in Brazil, SĆ£o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, BrasĆ­lia, Recife and FortalezaCASA FIAT DE CULTURA, Belo Horizonte, BrazilMuseum of Art of Santa Catarina (MASC), Brazil Museum Cabanas, Guadalajara, MexicoMuseo Nacional de las Culturas del Mundo, Mexico City, Mexico.