작품 상세

122 x 62 cm, 133 x 74 cm (framed) Charlie Tawara (Tararu) was a founding member of Papunya Tula and became an important spokesman for the Pintupi due to his strong command of English. He was noted as having been an adventurous and energetic man, and despite a number of white people in the settlement characterising him as difficult, Bardon found him to be accessible and loyal. His versatility with language and European customs enabled him to guide and explain, on both sides of the cultural divide. He was the eldest of the many Tjungurrayi skin ‘brothers’ that included Kingsley, Shorty Lungkata, and Yala Yala as well as Don, George, Willy, Two Bob, and Yumpululu who would follow these artists into painting. The vitality of his brushwork imparted a ‘vigourous presence’ to his paintings. In early works such as this, he depicted sacred elements and objects which, due to controversy at the time, were later eliminated from Pintupi men's paintings in favour of more secular and decorative iconography.