Michael Nelson Tjakammarra

Michael Nelson Tjakamarra(aka Jagamarra)

b. 1945

Indigenous Artist Aboriginal Art

Five Dreamings 1984

'Five Dreamings‘ Papunya, central AustraliaMichael Nelson Tjakamarra assisted by Marjorie Napajarri

1984

Critical StudyIn this painting you can see a simplified image of a snake and geometrical

patterns such as dots, wavy lines and concentric circles (roundels)

They appear to be signs or symbols, telling a story as our eye is led from left to right across the painting.

The central interconnected roundels divide the painting in two.

The colours are mainly those we find in soil and rocks with the addition of blue.

These designs when applied to any surface, whether on the body of a person taking part in a ceremony or on a shield, have the power to transform the object

to one with religious significance and power.

Dots are one of the conventional symbols widely used and for many non-Aboriginal people these are what give Central and Western Desert art its

distinctive character. Dots may represent many things - including stars, sparks or burnt ground. The base or floor of any Aboriginal design or painting is the preparation of the earth, or the ancestor being's involvement with the earth.

Art Making Practice

• Tjakamarra creates his paintings by laying the canvas on the floor, and moving around the canvas

whilst sitting on the ground.

• This way he feels connected to the earth and can draw from its

energy when representing Dreamtime stories that his father, a

‘medicine man’ passed down to him from his father.

Symbols used in Papunya Central Desert art

Historical Study• Aboriginal works are mostly about

places or sites of ancestral beings in the dreamtime.

• Since many stories of the dreamtime are sacred and belong to the artist or group of people, without their permission it is not possible to understand the meaning or appreciate the importance of the land to the Aboriginal life.

• Tjakamarra learned the skills he later used for painting when he lived out in the desert. Most traditional Aboriginal art derives from the pictures that were drawn in the sand to teach children how to read animal tracks in preparation for the hunt, or from the painting used on the bodies and implements used in traditional ceremonies.

Historical Study…• These paintings provide

us with a map like image of the enormous space in which Aboriginal people exist and travel.

• Their art is a means of communicating their religious beliefs.

• They believe the spirit of Dreamtime beings is still hidden within the land.

• Michael Tjakammara paints Possum, Snake, Two Kangaroos, flying Ant and Yam dreamings for the area around

Pikilyi.

"Kangaroo Dreaming"

Size = 77 x 122 cm.Acrylic on linen

Michael Nelson Tjakamarra

•Michael Nelson Tjakamarra was born at Vaughan Springs, NT.

•He grew up in the bush ‘without clothes’, first seeing White men at Mt Doreen Station

•He remembers hiding in the bush in fear. •He now lives in Papunya, NT.

•He came to Papunya in 1976, working for a time in the government store and for the

Council, observing the work of the older artists for years before beginning to paint regularly for

himself in 1983. •In 1984 he won the National Aboriginal Art

Award

Possum Dreaming

• The central roundels depict the Flying Ant Dreaming at a place called Yuwintji, west of Vaughan Springs.

• The large and smaller circle to the right above the central line represents two sacred sites north of Vaughan Springs, Tjangakulangu and Mawitji.

Parliament House in Canberra.

Tjakamarra designed the mosaic in the courtyard outside Australia's Parliament house.

Possum Dreaming…• Yilkiri, a site near Mt Singleton is

also shown. This represents where a willy-willy turned into a rainbow serpent. Wanampi, seen here in the form of a snake.

• Below the serpent’s body are the tracks of a rock wallaby travelling between two sacred sites.

• Three circles in the bottom left corner represent Miruwarri, a rain dreaming site.

Aboriginal art can now be seen in our capital city in a form in which it is both useful and permanent. The granite mosaic pavement in the open forecourt of the new Parliament House in Canberra was designed by

Michael Nelson Tjakamarra. It represents our ancient continent and our oldest civilisation.

Tjakamarra's painting displayed in the foyer of the

Sydney Opera House. 8m long

The variety of Aboriginal painting styles is reflected in the regions and communities they come from.

Tjakamarra is from the Central and Western Desert community.

Historical Study• The Aboriginal people are

trying to find a balance between keeping information secret to keep their laws, beliefs and society structure alive and

sharing information in the hope of achieving the recognition of

their rights.

• Art makes sure their culture is passed onto future generations

and is a visual language of signs and symbols.

Five Dreamings 1997, acrylic on canvas, 125 x 86 cm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5zz7fkdtKo

Tjakamarra painted this BMW M3 racer in 1989