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Rockholes and country near Kata Tjuta

Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri
Rockholes and country near Kata Tjuta
 2007

Medium
synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Measurements
120.0 × 520.0 cm

Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Indigenous Art, 2008
© The Artists/Licensed by Aborginal Artists Agency Limited

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Gallery location
Gallery 3
Ground Level, NGV Australia

 

About this work

Myriad layered dots pull the viewer into the ancestral and painterly spectacle of this work. Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri’s intuitive mark-making creates a complex composition that traces waterways, native plants and geological formations across his Country, revealing a topographical map imbued with ancestral knowledge. Whiskey’s Country lies between Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) in Central Australia. While these rock formations are known around the globe, the artist shares their specific Pitjantjatjara origins and invites us to consider them from this cultural perspective. In this work, Whiskey references the ancestral clash between the cockatoo, the crow and the eagle. Their actions shaped the landscape, and their relationships are mirrored within it.

Artwork Details

Place/s of Execution
Amunturrngu, Northern Territory

Accession Number
2008.22

Department
First Nations Australia

This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation

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