ABORIGINAL DESERT ART  GALLERY

KEITH KAAPA TJANGALA

Keith Kaapa Tjangala is a talented young artist who has gained recognition for his meticulous style.

He began painting in the late eighties and quickly learned to utilise his skills and Dreamtime stories as an artist.

This painting is by Keith Kaapa Tjangala an Aboriginal artist from Papunya. The dreamings Keith paints have been handed down to Keith by his father, Kaapa Tjampitjinpa. Kaapa was one of the original group of men who began painting at the Papunya settlement in the early 1970's with the school teacher Geoffery Bardon. The storylines within the paintings are passed down this way over generations from father to son providing a direct link to his Dreamtime ancestors..

Within this painting Emu Dreaming we see the area of Keith's homeland around the area west of Yuendummu.

The concentric circles depict sacred ceremonial sites in this area, the smaller concentric circles shown is Spinefex grass and preparation areas for the ceremony, where Spinifex grass is burned and the ashes are mixed with Kangaroo or Emu fat to make the body paint, the two half circles are windbreaks for the ceremonial site.

The Emu tracks indicate the presents of the Emu man. Keith's work has been shown in many national and international exhibitions and his work is sought after by many collectors.