Kungkarrangkalpa tjukurrpa
Artist
Tjaparti Bates
(1932-2016)
Date1998
Object numberV00032994
NameGlass panel
MediumGlass
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA series of three artworks by Tjaparti Bates titled 'Kungkarrangkalpa Tjukurrpa' (Seven Sisters Dreaming) .HistoryThe Seven Sisters Dreaming track covers thousands of kilometres of country in the Western and Central Deserts. One Seven Sister Dreaming track passes just north of Warburton and another just south east of the town. Taparti Bates has shown her mother's Seven Sisters Dreaming track just north of Warburton.
As the Sisters journeyed they bestowed names on hundreds of locations. In the Ngaanyatjarra world few features in the universe are not named. In bestowing names the Ancestral Sisters laid down the relations between them and all the other living creatures. Names are among the most precious items possessed by a clan. The tracks the Sisters made link the groups of people in whom the Ancestral beings vested land. These journeys are routine lyre -created in narrative song cycles and dance and performed regularly in the Central and Western Desert. Warburton Community art is drawn from this song cycle that connects places, Dreaming and people.
Taparti's design shows the Sisters as they travel from waterhole to waterhole, trying to escape from the old man Yula. The Kungkarrangkalpa (Seven Sisters) are seen gathering wild food and performing ceremonies at the different waterholes - Wanam, Wilurampal, Ngurutjarra, Yiltjinpi, Wirrurupurrupu, Yurilypi, Ngurntupungku and Kulali. Tracks of bush turkey, emus and dogs can be seen approaching these waterholes that have become powerful and important sites, Kungkarrangkalpa - Seven Sisters Dreaming maps Tapartia's mother country and shows the presence of water. The story tells how the land and water was formed, who owns it and also explains how to behave when visiting the waterholes.The Kungkarrangkalpa show that the waterholes must be respected and children after a certain age are not allowed to play in them .SignificanceBefore starting Kungkarrangkalpa Tjukurrpa, Tjaparti Bates visited the site depicted in the glass with members of her extended family, young and old. Her art is a deliberate means of keeping in touch with her land and passing on knowledge of places, designs and songs to the next generation. Each of her glassworks focuses on a different site as part of a system of community education.
