Whiskey Tjukangku
Whiskey Tjukangku is an Australian Aboriginal artist from South Australia. He paints for Iwantja Arts, the community co-operative at Indulkana on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. He is an elder of the Yankunytjatjara people, and a ngangkaṟi (traditional healer).[1] One of his works was chosen as a finalist for the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2012.[2] His brother, Barney Wangin, is also an artist.[3]
Whiskey Tjukangku | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1939 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Years active | 2010 – present |
| Organization | Iwantja Arts |
| Style | Western Desert art |
| Relatives | Barney Wangin |
Tjukangku was born around 1939,[4] in the bush near Umuwa in north-western South Australia.[3] The name "Whiskey" was given to him by one of his friends when he was a young boy. It is said that Tjukangku took this name because he could not pronounce his own Aboriginal name.[2]
Tjukangku grew up at the mission in Ernabella and at De Rose Hill,[1] a cattle station located along the Stuart Highway.[2][3] He never went to school. As a child, he was taught about working with horses and cattle at De Rose Hill. By the time he was a teenager, Tjukangku began working for the station as a jackaroo, mustering cattle.[2][5] He worked as a stockman for many years, on several stations throughout central Australia.[1][3][6] He worked for a long time on the land of the Arrernte people (in the Northern Territory), which he depicts in many of his works.[2] When he was older, he moved back south, closer to his homeland (where he and his family were born). He settled at Indulkana, and has lived there ever since.[1]
Tjukangku was one of the first men to begin painting at Indulkana, and was one of the original members of Iwantja Arts.[1] In addition to painting, he also does printmaking using the intaglio method (cutting designs into wooden objects).[1] Beginning in his early 70s, Tjukangku is reported to suffer from dementia. He still works as a full-time artist, however, and makes an average of one or two artworks per week.[5]
His artworks depict personal reflections on his travels and experiences in the central Australian desert.[1] It is often just memories, about where he used to work or a place he fondly remembers.[7] This is different to most traditional Yankunytjatjara artists, who usually paint about their Wapar (Dreaming). A common motif featured in Tjukangku's artworks is puṉu (wood that is used for making traditional tools and objects). This is often both his subject and his medium.[1] Objects in his artworks are often more figurative (realistic) than in most Western Desert art, but still contain elements and shapes that are very clearly abstract.[1][3] Tjukangku paints in natural earthy tones, using rich shades of red, browns, ochres and black. He uses fields and lines of white dots to highlight shapes and movement.[2][3]
Tjukangku's work has been featured in group shows at major galleries since 2010. He held his first solo exhibition in April–May 2011, in Alice Springs.[1] He held a second solo show at the same venue the next year, in July–August 2012.[3][7] One of the works exhibited at his first solo show was bought by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.[4] Other works by Tjukangku are held in several of Australia's major private galleries.[5] Some of his earliest prints are displayed in the South Australian Museum.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Angel, Anita (4 November 2011). "Whiskey Tjukangku". Looking at Art. Charles Darwin University Art Collection and Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Arrente Country, Whiskey Tjukangku". 29th National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Rothwell, Nicolas (12 June 2012). Stockmen artists riding high. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/stockmen-artists-riding-high/story-e6frg8n6-1226391507171. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Whiskey Tjukangku: Punu trees". Collection Online. National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sinclair, Corey (13 July 2012). Prolific indigenous artist returns to Alice. http://alicenow.com.au/news/article/new-solo-show. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "Kapi Pulka (Big Rain)". Indigenart. Mossenson Galleries. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Group exhibition: 'Our Place' and Whiskey Tjukangku: 'New Works'". Australian Art Collector. Gadfly Media. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2012.