Length of fabric

Tjunkaya Tapaya
Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia
1947

Length of fabric
2008
silk batik
Place made
Pukatja (Ernabella), Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia
Medium
silk batik
Dimensions
185.0 x 110.0 cm
142.0 x 11.0 cm (diam.) (rolled)
Credit line
South Australian Government Grant 2008
Accession number
20082A6A
Signature and date
Signed l.l. near selvage "Tjunkaya" Not dated.
Media category
Textile
Collection area
Australian decorative arts and design - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Copyright
Courtesy the artist and Ernabella Arts

  • Ernabella Arts and Crafts was founded in Pukatja in the far northwest of South Australia in 1948, the year after Tjunkaya Tapaya was born – and her life itself has been the measure of the female-led desert industry of art and craft. Working across a range of media, Tapaya is also represented in the Gallery’s collection with a figurative sculpture made from tjanpi (grass) and found objects.

     

    This work on silk was created by hand-drawing lines of hot wax, using a tool called a tjanting, to form borders for the coloured dye. In 1971 Tapaya was among the first Ernabella artists to take up the practice of batik using this batik tulis technique. This 2008 piece showcases her skilful handling  of both design and colour. The unique pattern seen in the work is known as ’Ernabella walka’ or anapalayaku walka (Ernabella’s design), a distinctive curved pattern produced almost exclusively by Ernabella artists during the first fifty years of the art centre’s operation.

     

    Lisa Slade, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs

     

  • [Book] Reason, Robert. Bravura 21st Century Australian Craft.
  • [Book] AGSA 500.