Description

55.9 cm x 91.4 cm: acrylic on canvas

Artwork is sold unstretched

Henry Farmer

Henry Farmer is a Ngaanyatjarra artist, arts worker and 2022 Director of Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art. Henry is the son of senior artist and law woman Annie Farmer. Henry has only started painting in recent years in Kaltukatjara, having had his works exhibited for the first time in 2018 at the Revealed exhibition for emerging Aboriginal artists in Fremantle, WA.

Henry paints strong Tjukurrpa (Dreaming stories) from his grandmother and grandfather’s country, Kuruyultu – a sacred site to the west of Tjukurla community.  In 2019, Henry participated in the Desart photography workshop and has developed an interest in taking photographs of family and artists in the art centre. Henry is keen to keep developing his story by documenting community happenings – especially his bush mechanics workshop!

Kuruyultu

This painting is about an important Tjukurrpa of Henry’s tjamu-ku ngurra (grandfather’s country). The Ngaanyatjarra people call the site ‘Kuru Yurltu’- meaning ‘Hollow Eye’. This area holds a large body of water, and is the the physical representation of a Tjukurrpa. He is only allowed to only tell part of the Tjukurrpa to the public. The part of a man – Tjintirr-Tjintirr (a little black bird with a long tail). This man tries to hurt a woman with a boomerang. He threw the boomerang and the lady saw it coming and she ducked down. The boomerang went flying over her head and straight through the big rocky hill behind her. You can see where that boomerang went through the hill. Just over the sand dunes near this place is Kuru Yurltu – a hill with many eyes. As you go past you can see all the eyes, they are the holes in the hill. This part of the story, Henry cannot tell the public. Henry paints this story by painting the surrounding country of this site. He depicts the eyes of Kuruyurltu and the sand dunes surrounding it.