TJILPI KUTJARA
Cover: Lawrence Pennington. Photo - Amanda Dent.
SPINIFEX Art Project and RAFT Artspace present
Tjilpi Kutjara
Lawrence Pennington and Simon Hogan
SEPTEMBER 8 - OCTOBER 2, 2021
Lawrence Pennington. Photo - Stephen Oxenbury.
S H O RT S TO RI E S Pa i n t i n g s a r e sh o r t st o rie s . They are drawn f rom large r e x pe rie nce , emo tio n a n d i m a g i n a t i o n a n d a r e t h u s re pre s e ntations of s om e thing m ore than the mselves. T h ey a r e, a s a c o n seq u en c e, age nts of conte ntm e nt and anticipation: an in to xic a tin g m i x t u r e o f u n set t l ed sa tis f action that le ave s the viewe r both f ulf ille d an d empty. Ab o r i g i n a l a r t i s a n exi ste ntial addiction: bre d with m ys ticis m , m ys te r y and h u ma n ity wh o se st a n c e i s b eg u i l ing and unre quite d. It e ngage s our im agination a n d spea k s i n a l a n g u a ge we c a n ’t quite unde rs tand. The le s s we unde rs tand th e mo re we w a n t t o k n ow ; t h e so f te r we s pe ak the m ore we lis te n; the poore r our visio n th e h a r d er we l o o k u n t i l we are f ound and los t at the s am e tim e . So we s e e k to en ga ge, u n d er st a n d , i n q u i r e a n d acquire . A cquis ition s atis f ie s . A r t is a narcotic. Pa in tin g is o n t o l o g y b ef o r e i t i s a r t. How m a ny wo r d s d o es a picture actually te ll and how m any picture s are n eeded to a c c ess t h e m i n d s o f gr e at A boriginal Me n s uch as Sim on and L awre nc e? T h ey a re m en o f a d i f f er en t h i st o r y; m e n of s uch antiquity that they m ay be f air ly sa id to h ave c o m e f r o m a d i f f er en t place . H ow do we ge t to that place ? H ow do we sh a re th eir em o t i o n s, h i st o r y a n d mys tical s e lve s ? H ow do we be gin to unde rs tand? T h ese sh o r t st o r i es p r ov i d e so m e i ns ight.
Lawrence Pennington. 21-8 Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 110 x 85cm, 2021.
N YU N YA RA N G U A N D M I R R I NYA S i m o n ( N y u nya r a n g u ) and L awre nce (Mir rinya) are old. No- one know s h ow o ld, c er t a i n l y i n t h ei r 9 0 s. They are the olde s t living We s te r n De s e r t Men a live in Au st r a l i a . B o t h wer e b o r n in Spinif e x , Sim on ne ar a dange rous and s acr ed lo c a tio n Wa n t j i r i a n d Law r en c e at Wyar ra around which the ope n re d dune s are littered w ith t h e m a t er i a l r em a i n s o f the m any hundre d ge ne rations bor n the ir be f ore h im. S imo n l o st h i s u m b i l i c a l c o r d at Wyar ra and L awre nce los t his um bilical cord a t N ya n k u n n ea r by. B o t h m en sh a r e countr y and its s piritual m anif e s tations . Wa n t j i r i i s a p l a c e o f huge and dange rous m e taphys ical propor tion wh ere th ree r el i g i o u s n a r r a t i ves i n t e rs e ct: W iiyka (W ild Cat); Papa (Dingo) and K ipar a ( Bu sta rd) . W ya r r a i s a d j a c en t t o Wati Nyii Nyii (Ze bra F inch Me n). K ipara and Nyii N yii a re th e d ef i n i n g r el i g i o u s n a r r a tive s of the Spinif e x Pe ople . They would be de s cribed, sh o u ld t h i s b e w r i t t en 1 0 0 years ago, as the tote m s of the Spinif e x Pe ople . Ac c o rdin gly, S p i n i f ex M en p a i n t t h e bridge of the ir nos e with ochre , re pre s e nting the red bill o f t h e z eb r a f i n c h a n d sy m bolis ing the ir re ligious alle giance . S i m o n i s c o n su b st a n t i al with the Wati K ipara and has neve r hunte d or e aten Bu sta rd a s a c o n seq u en c e. S i m on als o looks like his s piritual double . H e is the la st h o lder o f t h a t gr ea t f i r e n a r r a t ive ye t, like L awre nce , f re que ntly paints the le s s da n gero u s go sp el o f t h e t wo p r i n c e like m e n, Wati K utjara, whos e ce ntrality to the Sp in ifex la n ds l i n k s t h o se l a n d s t o a nar rative that e x te nds ove r 4000 km acros s the Au stra lia n d eser t s a n d so i t s i n t eracts with its m any s upe r natural he roe s : Walawur u ( Wedget a i l E a g l e) ; Wa n a m p i ( Wate r Se rpe nt), W ir utja (H awk) and K uniya (Python ) .
Men’s Collaborative. 21-64 Pilanguru. Acrylic on linen, 230 x 200cm, 2019.
Simon Hogan. 21-153 Lingka, Acrylic on linen, 137 x 140cm, 2021.
Lawrence Pennington. 21-105 Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 137 x 110cm, 2021.
S E E I N G S ACRE D Wa n t j i r i i s t h e m o st sacre d and dange rous of place s . It ins tills f e ar an d requ ires c o u r a ge, et i q u et t e a n d knowle dge to approach. Ce re m onial dre s s is ma n da to r y, i n t r o d u c t i o n s c r i t i c a l . Ce r tain ritual s ounds are m ade , ve rbalis ing e mo tio n s a n d p a c i f y i n g t h e sp i r i t s; r e pe ate d cons tantly and re gular ly in a place whe re emo tio n is l a c ed w i t h a n xi et y a n d m e nace . T h e n ov i c e i s t a ken w i t h f orce d br utality: he ld hard, he ad down and ma de to r u n , u n seei n g ( a t sp eed s m a de f or s tum bling) acros s dune s , rocks and s lope s . Blin d to th e l o c a t i o n , t h e n ov i c e i s t hrown he adlong onto the dir t f loor as m e n uns e en fa ll u po n h i m , c h a n t i n g l o u d l y, b odie s and f ace s com pre s s e d r uthle s s ly agains t th e gro u n d. T h e d u st , b o d i es a n d c hants collide ; re s onating in s hare d archaic cons c io u sn ess. R i t u a l c h a n t s c o n t i n u e through the night. K ipara s its ne ar a f ire not f a r aw ay. T h e M en a r e r i g h t ; h e l o o k s like Sim on. Papa and W iiyka s it s e parate ly a t differen t f i r es, n a ked , i m m o b i l e, lit am be r by he ar th f ire s agains t which we tr y an d sleep. T h e n ov i c e d i d n o t ex p ec t the s e s pirits to have hum an f or m .
Lawrence Pennington. 21-157 Pukara. Acrylic on linen, 230 x 200cm, 2021.
TH E L O N G W A L K N o n - Ab o r i g i n a l p eo p l e approache d the ir lands in the 1950s . The Spin ifex Peo ple w a t c h ed w i t h f ea r, a n x i ety, s urpris e and, ultim ate ly, re s ignation. The A to mic Tests a t M a r a l i n ga b l ew w i n d s o f change , with Patrol Of f ice rs f rom the e as t and Missio n a ries f r o m t h e west c o nver g i ng like claws acros s the lands of the Spinif e x Peo ple: th e d eser t m u st b e c l ea r ed; pe ople m us t be re s cue d f rom what we have don e a n d ta ken t o sa f er p l a c es. So Lawrence Pennington left his homeland, a young initiated man. He and others were taken to Cundeelee Mission, ‘the Promised Land’ where, perhaps to the surprise of the Church, promise was fulfilled. Cundeelee became a centre for traditional religious lear ning and ceremony. Communal and ceremonial life at Cundeelee was good. S i m o n st ayed o u t i n t h e de s e r t. But he was curious . So, with his olde r bro th er, h e w a l ked over 7 0 0 k m wes t to Mount Margre t. Sim on’s brothe r chos e to s tay a t M o u n t M a r ga r et b u t S i m o n m ove d on. H e continue d anothe r 250km s outh to K a lgo o r lie bu t saw t h e c i t y l i g h t s a n d was ove rwhe lm e d. H e was f righte ne d and de cided to w a lk h o m e, over 1 0 0 0 k m aw ay, alone . T h e sk i l l s o f t h e b u sh m an are a pas s por t to all place s as long as the pa sspo r t is st a m p ed w i t h r el i g i o u s ins ignia that s e ts the conditions of e ntr y.
Lawrence Pennington. 21-17 Pukara Munu Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 230 x 200cm, 2021
A MAP Simon’s walk was a journey of incomparable magnitude: a journey that makes the exploits and hyperbole of Australian Explorers seem small. But for Simon it was no great achievement: he knew the desert and he knew its Tjukurrpa; sacred law and an encyclopedic body of religious geographic texts that define the location of ever y sacred place and waterhole across a vast radius from his desert homelands. The religious vocabular y of the Tjukurrpa is truly profound. In the late 1990s Simon, Lawrence and other senior Spinifex Men were in Fremantle, attending native title meetings with the Western Australian Government. None had been to Perth before. None had seen the sea. Yet as Simon and the others sat in their hotel room looking across the ocean to Rottnest Island they began to sing. They sang the song of the islands: the traditional hymn for Rottnest Island, 1400km from their homeland. When the Spinifex people first ventured to Eucla on the southern ocean in the late 1990s they detailed the religious topography along the route, identified ever y sacred location on the arid coast and named ever y sacred boulder within gorges along the coastal shore: over 450 km from their homelands. When visiting the ranges of Lower Eyre Peninsula in 2013 Simon, Lawrence and other great Spinifex Men named and explained the local mythology. The integrity of the accounts was implicit in their detail and made explicit in corrupted historical nomenclature that echoed those same names: the historic iconography of the agricultural landscape inscribed by sacred mythology underlying it. Locals had, until that moment, thought the names had been given by Mathew Flinders. But Australian histor y is older than that.
Simon Hogan. 21-39 Lingka. Acrylic on linen, 200 x 137cm, 2021.
MEANWHILE As t h e S p i n i f ex Peo p l e thrive d at Cunde e le e , Sim on had m ar rie d an d h a d two c h i l d r en . He l i ved i n h i s wif e ’s countr y ne ar Pirapi (the re s ting place of t h e M o o n ) in S o u t h Au st r a l i a , so m e 260km e as t of his own countr y. They live d in the ver y sh a dow o f M a r a l i n ga . S i m o n ’s young brothe r, Roy U nde rwood, had joine d the m . He h a d ju st b een i n i t i a t ed n ea r Ya l ata in South Aus tralia and walke d 640 km nor thwest in to th e d eser t t o sp en d t i m e w ith his f am ily. In 1963 they s aw Patrol Of f ice rs driv in g th ro u gh t h ei r c o u n t r y. T h e gr o u p was anx ious and hid be f ore walking 160km s o u th -west to t h e l o c a t i o n wh er e Lawre nce Pe nnington and othe r Spinif e x Pe ople we re r u mo u red t o h ave b een r esc u ed . T he place was e m pty s o Sim on and his f am ily be ga n w a lk in g n o r t h , b a c k t o S i m o n ’s countr y. Spinif e x Pe ople , Je rom e A nde rs on (K un aw in ta ) a n d To by J a m ei so n m et t h em with m is s ionarie s f rom Cunde e le e on that re t u r n jo u r n ey. S i m o n a n d h i s f a m i l y we re colle cte d and drive n 600 km s outhwe s t to th e M issio n .
BUT B y t h e ea r l y 1 9 8 0 s C u n de e le e Mis s ion had r un out of natural re s ource s : bu sh fo o ds, wo o d a n d d r i n k a b l e w ate r. The Mis s ion clos e d and the Spinif e x Pe ople dec ided to go h o m e. T h e j o u r n ey was incre m e ntal, s eve ral ye ars acros s the Nullarb o r Pla in to t h e ed ge o f t h e r ed sa n d de s e r t. They brought te chnolog y with the m in th e fo r m o f a gr a d er w i t h wh i c h t h ey s ought to ope n the ir lands f or re newe d s e ttle m e n t. T h is th ey a c h i eved , w i t h S i m o n walking in the le ad, and his s on grading be hind him. To geth er t h ey m a d e a r o a d so m e 350 km long into the countr y of the ir dre am s : a lw ays c lo se en o u g h t o a c c ess i t s sacre d place s but neve r clos e e nough to dis turb th em.
Previous spread: Lawrence Pennington. Photo - Amanda Dent. Lawrence Pennington. 20-232 Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 200 x 137cm, 2020.
Lawrence Pennington. Photo - Paul Bulley. Lawrence Pennington. 21-167 Wati Kutjara. Acrylic on linen, ??? x ???cm, 2021.
S O TH E S TO RY G O E S W h a t d o e s a wo r k o f a r t by M e n s u c h a s S i m o n a n d L aw r e n c e r e p r e s e n t ? W h a t i s its allure? O st en si b l y, f a sc i n a t i o n is bre d f rom abs tracte d com m onality and notions o f c o u n tr y, exp r essi o n , sp i r i t u a l c o n ne ction, re ligious vocabular y and ance s tr y of untold a n tiqu ity c a p t u r ed i n t em p o r a l f o r m . Re alis tically it is a hallucinoge n of s pirit and a n a c t o f em p a t hy i n t wo d i m en sions : a m e dium of conne ction be twe e n the s upe r n a tu ra l a n d t h e u n i m a g i n a b l e; a n d be twe e n the inconce ivable and the ir re place able. We see i n ea c h p a i n t i n g a m iniature of gigantic live s . Each capture s a fra gmen t o f a sp i r i t u a l d i m en si o n o the rwis e dif f icult to gras p. Each is an act of e nligh ten men t. T h e a r t p r ov i d es en r i c h m e nt and aware ne s s . It holds tr ue and will e ndure wh ile th e M en a n d t h e t r a d i t i o n s that gave ris e to it will not. T h e c r ea t i o n s a r e i m p l a cably par t of s om e thing m uch gre ate r : s hor t s tories – po sta ge st a m p s o n a n envel o p e of be auty, m ys te r y and wonde r ; a le gacy of M en wh o se k n ow l ed ge a n d l i f e ex pe rie nce s will neve r be f ully gras pe d, will neve r be equ a led a n d w i l l n ever b e seen again.
Scott Cane
Lawrence Pennington. 18-119 Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 110 x 85cm, 2018.
Lawrence Pennington. 21-121 Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 137 x 110cm, 2021.
Simon Hogan. 21-184 Lingka. Acrylic on linen, 137 x 140cm, 2021.
Previous spread: Simon Hogan. Photo Amanda Dent.
Simon Hogan. Photo - Stephen Oxenbury.
Simon Hogan. 20-225 Lingka. Acrylic on linen, 137 x 90cm, 2020.
Simon Hogan. 19-383 Lingka. Acrylic on linen, 137 x 90cm, 2019.
Lawrence Pennington. 21-9 Mituna. Acrylic on linen, 110 x 85cm, 2021.
Simon Hogan. Photo - Stephen Oxenbury. Simon Hogan. 21-116 Lingka. Acrylic on linen, 200 x 137cm, 2021.
Previous spread: Simon Hogan. Photo - Paul Bulley.
SEPTEMBER 8 - OCTOBER 2, 2021 8 HELE CRESCENT ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870. 0428 410 811 art@raftartspace.com.au www.raftartspace.com.au
Photo: Spinefex Arts Project.