ON Friday night high-quality artwork was on show at Yaama Ganu Gallery in Moree as they hosted an exhibition opening featuring two sisters from the West Australian desert.
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Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa was born at Yumara, North of the Docker River in Western Australia around 1950, while sister Esther Giles Nampitjinpa grew up in the desert and lives a nomadic lifestyle with her tribe.
Esther’s artworks represent the traditional homelands associated with her tribe’s ancestral heritage, depicting sand dunes known as ‘tali’ and rock escarpments known as ‘puli’, as well as waterholes and food sources.
Her designs are often used in body art during traditional corroborees.
The concentric circles often depicted in Esther’s paintings are a series of waterholes located near her homeland.
In the years that Esther has been painting she has gained world-wide recognition, participating in many national and international solo and group exhibitions.
Her works are represented in private and corporate collections in Australia, Europe and the USA.
Tjawina grew up ‘in the bush’ with her family, living an orthodox tribal life with no contact with western civilisation.
Initially known for her skill as a traditional basket weaver, Tjawina has developed into a prominent painter.
Her works are rich in ethnographic iconography and present images that are interpretations of the stories passed down through generations and on to her by her mother and father.
The ceremonial sites dear to her, her sisters and her ancestors of Yumari, Punkilpirri, Tjukurla and Tjalili are often portrayed, using a thickly layered style of predominantly white, cream, brown and pastel colours.
Tjawina’s work is represented in private and corporate collections in Australia and around the world.
The exhibition will be open at Yaama Ganu until October 10.