Wanampi Tjukurpa
2007
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Measurements
152.0 × 101.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters and Patrons of Indigenous Art, 2007
© Tiger Palpatja, courtesy Tjala Arts
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Tiger Palpatja’s paintings narrate his Tjukurpa, the creation story of Piltati. Embedded in the land is a story of an escalating conflict between wati kutjara (two brothers) and their wives, minyma kutjara (two sisters). Every day the women would go hunting while their husbands performed inma (ceremonies). One day the wives decided to eat all the food they had gathered rather than share it and in a fit of rage, their husbands transformed themselves into wanampi (giant water serpents) and travelled beneath the ground. In search of the wnaampi, the wives dug furiously into the ground, creating the rocky gorge at Piltati.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Amata, South Australia
Accession Number
2007.455
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation