Collectable Turkey Tolson important ancestor figure1996

Painted by Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula in 1996, Commissioned from Steve Nibbs and collected by Peter Los.

Turkey got his name from his raucous laugh, it was not his Dreaming. In my opinion he was the greatest of all the Pintupi painters even though some of the older men have had more public awe. He was very open minded in his creativity, embracing many styles and artistic experiments. He once stayed with me in Melbourne for  a week with Eunice Napangardi and co.and it was one of the most memorable impressions that I carry of aboriginal manhood, decorum and manners. I hold the utmost respect for the late Turkey Tolson.

Although it was not encouraged in light of the great sucess that Turkey had with his Straightening the Spears canvases,  Turkey Tolson had a wide repertoire of Dreamings and compositions. The ancestor figure depicted here in rare but not unique. The Kelton collection in Santa Monica California has an example of this image in its collection. I know of at least two others plus the woodblock print that was done in Sydney. The image is the depiction of one of his direct paternal ancestors, referred to as his father at the cave site of Mitukatjarri. he is armed with woomera and spear. His hair is tied back behind his head in a style which is no longer permitted to wear by contemporary aboriginal warriors. He is shown sporting a full white beard which is reserved for the senior elders and is wearing a pubic apron tipped with bilby tails.  According to John Kean, an important early Papunya Tula art adviser,the Mitukatjrri men gathered to perform Punyunyu post initiation ceremonies. Some were burnt to death at this site while others lived on to fight the Tjikari men at Ilyingaungau. If you  are someone who is very  familiar with the anthropological side of aboriginal art a bright light bulb should have just clicked  on in your mind as Tjikari is the important Fire Dreaming site that was extensively depicted by Johnny Warangkula who was also a senior Tjupurrula from the Luritja language group. He also sung about the Punyunyu ceremonies and painted a very similar figure. This is an example of a song line, the details change a little as the story travels to the south west across tribal boundaries but the main theme is repeated.

Painting human figures is not only rare but  it is questioned as to whether or not it is a traditional practise or something invented post European contact.Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri   painted figures in his earliest compositions. Mick Namarari also and a browse through the literature can find other examples. It makes for a great collecting theme.