DICKIE MINYINTIRI - KAPI TJUKUPA
DICKIE MINYINTIRI
KAPI TJUKUPA, 2007
122 x 122 cm
synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen
REGION
Ernabella, SA
PROVENANCE
Ernabella Arts Inc, SA, Cat No. DM1812-07
Private Collection, NSW
Cooee Art Leven, NSW
STORY
Senior Anangu Law man, Dickie Minyintiri, was a respected healer and celebrated artist. He began painting in 2005 for Ernabella Arts Inc. at 90 years old. Ernabella art states: ‘Kapi Tjukula are the places Dickie and his family used to find water as they travelled across the APY Lands in pre-contact times. Dickie was born in the western APY Lands, and with his family, journeyed east, and camped for many years in the foothills of the Musgrave Ranges around Ernabella where water was plentiful. He was living here when the missionaries came in on camels to try and find a suitable place to set up a mission for Pitjantjatjara Yankanyutjatjara people. He is one of the few living Anangu that remember first contact. The lines connecting the circles (tjukula) represent Dickie and his family’s journey.’
This work continues the story of Minyintiri's award winning work in the 98th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2011, which he won at 98 years of age. The circles in this painting represent the many rockholes and clay pans that Minyintiri knew so intimately and his long overdue first survey show was received to critical acclaim in Melbourne in 2021.
EXHIBITED
Tracing The Country, March 2023, Cooee Art | Redfern
ARTIST PROFILE
