George Tjungurrayi began painting with Papunya Tula Artists in 1976 and continued his practice while living across communities throughout the region. His ancestral Country encompasses sites north-west of Kintore, near the border of Central and Western Australia. Tjungurrayi’s paintings depict men’s ceremonial narratives and the journeys of the Tingari ancestors as they travelled across significant remote sites, including the Country around his birthplace. Through finely resolved compositions and rhythmic linework, his works evoke the movement of Country and the enduring presence of ancestral knowledge.

The raw songlines of Untitled (2009) make this work an exceptional example of the artist’s practice. The field of narrow parallel lines relates to designs engraved on shields in the Western Desert, while also evoking a conceptualisation of the physical appearance of the Country around Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay), with its parallel ridges of sand dunes.

George Tjungurrayi has been recognised as a finalist in the Wynne Prize on multiple occasions, as well as the Mosman Art Prize and the Salon des Refusés, and received a Highly Commended Award at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. His work is held in major Australian and international collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney.

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