Mens Collective

This painting depicts Possum Tjukurrpa (dreaming), Kayman's Tjukurrpa which he traces from North-West of Papunya, the country of his Mothers ancestors. Each of the colours represent different elements of the Possums habitat whilst he hunts for ants. The yellow and the red represent Tali (sandhills), the green represents Tjanpi (spinifex) and the blue represents Kapi (water).

This painting is a depiction of a Western Australian landscape. Cayman paints this scenery in reflection of his studies when he lived there.

In this painting Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ant hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

In this painting, Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ants' hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

In this painting, Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ants' hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

In this painting, Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ants' hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

In this painting, Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ants' hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

In this painting, Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ants' hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

In this painting, Snowy is depicting women sitting around a Honey Ant (Tjupi) hive, digging for the sweet bush food. There are lots of kids waiting around for them to find some. The horseshoe shapes represent the women and children, where the straight lines represent their digging sticks (kuturru). The circular shapes represent the ants' hive. Tjupi have special significance for Papunya, which is a Honey Ant Dreaming (Tjupi Tjukurrpa) site, part of a larger story that runs from South Australia to Papunya.

This painting tells the story of Tjilirra (traditionally carved tools). On one side of the painting is a kali, and on the other a 'number seven' boomerang. In the centre of the canvas is a coolamon (carrying dish). Once essential items for survival in the western desert, these items still hold value today as powerful symbols of protection.

This painting tells the story of Tjilirra (traditionally carved tools). On one side of the painting is a kali, and on the other a 'number seven' boomerang. In the centre of the canvas is a coolamon (carrying dish). Once essential items for survival in the western desert, these items still hold value today as powerful symbols of protection.

Here Duncan has painted the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) he inherits from his Grandfather Turkey Toulson. Turkey was a pioneer of the Western Desert Dot painting movement and more specifically of works with strong line work.

Here Duncan has painted the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) he inherits from his Grandfather Turkey Toulson. Turkey was a pioneer of the Western Desert Dot painting movement and more specifically of works with strong line work.

In this painting is telling us about bush onion or Yalka which is a traditional Aboriginal bush food. Bush onions may be eaten raw or cooked after removing the hard casing. They are a small onion sedge with corms on shallow roots, the size of a small shallot. The women would perform a traditional ceremony in honour of the Bush Onion where they dance and paint their breast, chest and forearms in ceremonial body designs. They also decorate their bodies with feathers and dance with ceremonial objects such as nulla nullas (ceremonial dancing baton).

The artist has painted Yalka Tjukurrpa (bush onion dreaming) which was his Grandfather Limpi Tjapangarti Puntungka's Tjukurrpa. This artist is too young to have learned through consultation with his Grandfather, and so learns through revision of books documenting the early paintings of Papunya. This Tjukurrpa descends from a powerful site near Tjukunpu which is near Tjunkupu. "When you see that water and that rock... big water in that rock...too powerful".

Herman is telling the story of the Tjupi or Honey Ants. The story of the Honey Ant is told across the Northern Territory and into South Australia. Not only a highly favoured food source, the Honey Ant is an important link between the Anangu people’s mythology and inter-dependence on the environment. The Honey Ant Ancestors are strongly associated with the country around Papunya. When Aboriginal people go looking for Honey Ants they look for ant tunnels that lead down to the ants’ nest, about a metre under Mulga trees. The Honey Ant tunnels that lead down to the ant's nests are called nyinantu and the larvae are called ipilyka-ipilyka. When they find them, they shovel and dig down, following the tunnels to find the Honey Ants inside. They suck the honey nectar from the abdomen of the Honey Ant.The circles in this dreaming often represent sites where the people are digging for honey ants, with the U shapes being people.

In this painting Bob tells the honey ant story from Papunya. This is a sacred story that would be told at ceremony and was therefore withheld from women and uninitiated men before the early settlement days of Papunya. The passing of particular figures has meant that this story is now open to be shared by anyone. The artist is considered the owner of this story in Papunya and it is important to him that the story is preserved for the younger generations.

This painting tells one of many water dreaming's from the Papunya area. The circles represent important water or rock hole sites. The background design symbolises the landscape after the rains when the earth has been replenished with new growth. The rock holes collect the water during the rains. Knowledge of where to find water is handed down from generation to generation to ensure survival in the desert. This work represents the elements of a storm - wind, rain, thunderclouds and lightning. It also tells the story of rain and water flowing from the waterholes and flooding the usually dry creek beds.

This is a painting of a sacred site where all the animals have come to take a rest and drink water.

This painting depicts a hunting scene in Papunya. A lone man has sat down to take a rest. Upon doing so some kangaroo's and emu have returned. He is about to get up to continue his hunt.

This is a painting of a sacred site where all the animals have come to take a rest and drink water.

This painting depicts Waru Tjukurrpa (fire dreaming). This is a story from Walpiri country which was passed to the artist from his Grandfather. Two Tjangala men are shown making fire in the North. This fire will spread to the south.

This painting tells one of many water dreaming's from the Papunya area. The circles represent important water or rock hole sites. The background design symbolises the landscape after the rains when the earth has been replenished with new growth. The rock holes collect the water during the rains. Knowledge of where to find water is handed down from generation to generation to ensure survival in the desert. This work represents the elements of a storm - wind, rain, thunderclouds and lightning. It also tells the story of rain and water flowing from the waterholes and flooding the usually dry creek beds.

This painting depicts the Kapi (water) and Tali (sand dune) elements of Tjukurrpa (dreaming) belonging to Kalipinypa, an important dreaming site to the north of Kintore. This story was handed to Zachius by his grandfather Dennis Nelson.

This painting depicts the Kapi (water) and Tali (sand dune) elements of Tjukurrpa (dreaming) belonging to Kalipinypa, an important dreaming site to the north of Kintore. This story was handed to Zachius by his grandfather Dennis Nelson.

This painting depicts the marapulpa tjukurrpa - spider dreaming. This dreaming tracks tunnels dug by spiders from a site north-west of Yuendemu to a place west of Kintore. These tunnels allowed ancestral wallabies to travel from one place to the other. Selwyn inherited this story from his late grandfather, Willy Nakanbala Tjungurrayi. Tjungurrayi and Tjapaltjarri men are custodians for this story.

This work depicts a cheeky Tjilpi (old man). This Tjilpi is sitting around a kanyilpa (coolamin) full of different bush foods and game that he is not willing to share. He is yielding two kali (boomerang) which he is more than willing to launch if anybody is willing to test his claim to this food.

This is from my Grandmothers country. Thats all the womens dreaming. Theres bush tucker lying in the dish. Theres some water in the dish... and all the women sitting at home. Sometimes they go hunting for bush tucker and water. This is a hunting story. Theres wild bushflowers. Digging stick too. Palya they'll be right. - Dennis Nelson

In this painting Dennis Brown Tjungarrayi has depicted Mount Liebig, a remote community close to Papunya.

This painting depicts the Kapi Tjukurrpa (Water Dreaming) site of Kalipinypa, North-east of Kintore. Dennis talks of Kalipinypa as Paradise Country. He remembers a story of this site where two birds wonder around for water. Underneath that water there is a snake making the water bubble. There is bush tucker all around. There are wild flowers, kapi tjukitji and water running. The painting tells the story of an important rain making ceremony involving the rainmakers to invoke storms. Kalipinypa is a powerful storm that brings lightning, thunderclouds and rain to rejuvenate the earth, filling rock holes, clay pans and creeks. It has the power to create new life and growth upon the land. If present, the circles represent kapi tjukitji (rock holes) and the meandering lines depict the water flowing throughout the country and between waterholes. Background dotting represents the rejuvenating effect the rain has on the land, bringing out the bush food plants and providing easy access to water.

This painting depicts a rockhole or waterhole in the Western Desert country. The rockhole is represented by the concentric circles, and the dots represent the new growth that comes from the water.

This painting shows the footprints of the crow walking towards the waterhole at the centre of the canvas. The crow went to the water to drink, and turned to stone. Other crows followed - now there are too many there, and you can still see them, rocks, standing at this swamp, West of Kintore. This is my father's dreaming.

Here Christoph depicts Tjilirra, which is the Luritja word for the many different ancient hunting tools like Kali (boomerang) and Kuturu (nulla nulla). This piece is inspired by the work of his grandfather Michael Nelson Jagamarra.

This work is a depiction of the artists grandfathers country which lies to the North-West of Kintore. The two repetitive orange squares represent the seemingly endless Tali (sand dunes) that dominate the landscape in this country.