Artist | Watson Corby Tjungarrayi |
---|---|
Title | Kalipinypa Tjukurrpa |
Year | 2022 |
Medium | Acrylic on linen |
Dimensions | 152 × 122 cm |
Art Centre | Papunya Tjupi Arts → |
Out of stock
Watson Corby Tjungarrayi
Watson Corby Tjungarrayi is the son of founding Papunya Tula painter David Corby Tjapaltjarri and grandson of Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, and he learned to paint by watching them and his mothers. Watson often paints Kalipinypa Tjukurrpa (Dreaming), which was passed down to him from his grandfather, and tells of an important rain making ceremony. He paints this story employing a drip technique onto canvas or linen laid horizontally using a variety of found and homemade paint applicators. Watson, who is the current Chairperson of Papunya Tjupi, has been instrumental in the recent Men’s Art and Cultural Revival at Papunya Tjupi Arts, encouraging and leading the younger male cohort of painters in the studio and taking them on country visits.
Artist statement
The painting tells the story of the rain and hail making ceremony for the site of Kalipinypa. Ancestral forces are invoked to bring on a powerful storm with lightning, thunderclouds and rain sending a deluge to rejuvenate the earth, filling the rock holes, clay pans and creeks and creating new life and growth upon the land. Today the Nakamarra, Tjakamarra, Napurrula and Tjupurrula men and women are the custodians of this important Water Dreaming site and celebrate its stories in the ceremonies. Watson Corby Tjungarrayi says that the lines represent the water travelling into the waterholes, as well as rain and hail brought by the storm.