Maringka Tunkin (born 1959) is a

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...

artist from

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

Life

Tunkin was born at Mulga Park in the south-west of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, near the South Australian border in 1959. She is the daughter of Mick Wikilyiri, who is the custodian and

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of Tjala (Honey Ant) Country. Her mother Paniny Mick, is also an artist, whose work is in punu (wood carving), batik, and weaving.

Career

Tunkin is part of a contemporary Western Desert art tradition which involves working collaboratively in the creation of art, predominately painting. She is part of a family collaborative called the Ken Sisters, along with Tingila Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Sandra Ken, and

Tjungkara Ken Tjungkara Ken (born 1 October 1969) is a Pitjantjatjara artist from Amata, South Australia, in the APY lands. She began painting in 1997, when Minymaku Arts was opened by the women of Amaṯa. She started painting professionally in 2008. By that ...

. They initially came together 20 years ago under the name Minymaku Arts (meaning "belonging to women"), a collective of artists formed in

Amata According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...

in the

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

(APY) Lands. She is now represented by the

APY Art Centre Collective Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

. She is also an advocate against the exploitation of artists by unscrupulous art dealers. Tunkin, as part of the Ken Sisters, won the Wynne Prize 2016 for their work ''Seven Sisters'', . The work also won the People's Choice award in the 35th National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA). Her work has been exhibited at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

, the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

in its '' Know My Name'' exhibition and internationally. She is also represented in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunkin, Maringka 1959 births Living people Indigenous Australian artists Australian women artists Pitjantjatjara people