- Title: Karu munu Tjukula
- Artist: Tjunkaya Tapaya
- Region: Central Australia
- Art Centre: Ernabella Arts
- Medium: Linocut
- Collection:
- Dimensions: 38 x 56 cm
- Edition Size:
- Price ($AUD): $ 110.00
Artwork Story
This is about water and the importance it has in the lives of desert people. Knowledge of their water sources was critical to the survival of Pitjantjatjara people living in the desert. This fact caused such an intimate relationship and inherent presence in the minds of desert peoples. It continues today. Deep familiarity with the topography of their country and the way rain would interact with the land ensured constant sources of water to be found. ‘Tjukula’ means rock-holes, which are found with surprising frequency in the Musgrave ranges. Anangu (people) would use rocks and spinifex construction to guard these between visits from spoilage by animals and particularly in more recent times from feral and stock animals, cattle, camels, horses and donkeys. Karu are the creeks which are now mostly dry but flow after big rains. Many of the modern communities have creeks running through or near them.