Karrilwarra, from the suite Tjukurrpa Palurukutu, Kutjupawana Palyantjanya - same stories, a new way

In addition to showcasing the quality of Papunya Tula Artists as a whole, this suite of etchings emphasises the strength of each individual artist as they successfully translate their Tjukurrpa to the new medium of printmaking. Far from being a mere copy of their paintings in a different scale and medium each artists adapts their visual language to this new process with apparent ease, resulting in bold, confident works that are extraordinary in themselves, and when combined as a suite, are truly amazing.

The art centre documentation for this work states:

This etching depicts designs relating to the rockhole site of Karrilwarra, west of the Kiwirrkura community in Western Australia. This site has a dreaming that relates to the journey of two kuniya (python) ancestors who travelled to Karrilwarra from far in the east. When the snakes reached Karrilwarra they dug into the ground and created rockholes and soakage waters that still remain at the site. During ancestral times a large group of women also travelled to Karrilwarra and camped in the same area before continuing their travels further east to the site of Marrapinti, and later north-east to Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay). While at Karrilwarra the women dug for the edible tubers known as yunala from the bush banana vine Marsdenia australis.