Tjamu Tjamu
2004
Jackie Kurltjunyintja Giles
Australian Aboriginal, Ngaanyatjarra people, Patjarr, Southwestern Deserts, Western Australia, ca. 1944 - 2010
This vivid assault of circles opens a threshold to other worlds. The title, Tjamu Tjamu, is based on a morality tale of a rebellious kangaroo ancestor who wanted to marry his female relatives and thereby break kinship systems. The women resisted his advances and addressed him as Tjamu Tjamu, meaning "grandfather/grandson." Their boldness is matched by the repeating circles that have an almost mesmerizing incantatory power.
--Pam McClusky, Curator of African and Oceanic Art, 2015
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
59 13/16 x 83 7/8 in. (152 x 213 cm)
Gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan
2019.20.16
Provenance: [Aboriginal & Pacific Art, Sydney, Australia]; Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 2005
Photo: iocolor, Seattle