Yalka Dreaming
Sonder NAMPITJINPA: artist
This painting is about yalka (bush onion) – a small edible tuber that grows below the surface. Today, women use digging sticks, crow bars and large tin cans to dig for yalka and other similar-growing bush foods.
In the 1980s, Sonder Turner Nampitjinpa was taught to paint by her late father, Paddy Tjangala. And, according to art scholar, Vivien Johnson, the artist ‘was one of the first women painters in the Western Desert style to gain recognition for her work’ (https://www.daao.org.au/bio/sonder-nampitjinpa-turner/biography/).
Carly Lane 11/04/2018
In the 1980s, Sonder Turner Nampitjinpa was taught to paint by her late father, Paddy Tjangala. And, according to art scholar, Vivien Johnson, the artist ‘was one of the first women painters in the Western Desert style to gain recognition for her work’ (https://www.daao.org.au/bio/sonder-nampitjinpa-turner/biography/).
Carly Lane 11/04/2018
Title
Yalka Dreaming
Artist/Maker and role
Sonder NAMPITJINPA: artist
Date
1986
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on linen
Measurements
121.0 x 181.5 cm
Credit line
Purchased 1994
Licenced by Aboriginal Artist Agency Ltd
The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia
Accession number
1994/0345