Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM, Pitjantjatjara artist, is a senior Tjanpi Desert Weaver and a keeper of culture and stories in her community. Born in the far northwest of South Australia, she spent some of her childhood working in the craft room of the Ernabella Mission, learning skills which developed into a fine technical ability to sculpt native and raffia grasses. She subsequently mastered other mediums and techniques including batik, printmaking, spinning and ceramics, and began exhibiting in 1971. For the past several years she has focused on painting and her work for the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, a not-for-profit Indigenous social enterprise of the NPY Women's Council representing 400 women artists from 26 remote communities. As an artist and cultural leader, Tapaya is concerned with passing down her craft skills and cultural knowledge.
'When I am working on a big Tjanpi work, I work on it every day, all day until it is finished,' she says. 'I call the other weavers to come and sit down and help with the stitching and the young women too, so that they learn how to construct the big works. I feel happy when I am including all the other artists in the big work, and I feel happy when I see the young women learning our weaving skills.'
Purchased 2022
© Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM, Tjanpi Desert Weavers
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