Papunya art

An exhibition titled "Papunya Painting: Out of the Desert" featuring paintings by the Pintupi people from 1974 to 1981 is held at the National Museum of Australia. The paintings depict features of Western Desert aesthetics that symbolise the life in their land. Papunya Painting: Out of the Desert exhibition presents a powerful selection of early Papunya canvases dipped in the rawness and beauty of the country of the Pintupi spirit. Presence is palpable in the gallery space. The painted ground of the desert shakes with presence that jumps off the canvas and dances towards the audience. Curator Vivien Johnson has honoured the artists intent to communicate their grounded spirituality by situating these works in their cultural and historical contexts. The Pintupi stories of person, place and spirit in country form an intangible web suspending the paintings in meaning as they travel through different times and spaces. Acquired by the Aboriginal Arts Board in the 1970s and 1980s, these paintings have been in the custodianship of the National Museum of Australia since 1990 and now, after more than 30 years in seclusion, this unique collection has emerged into the light (Johnson 2007: 30).