Tingari Cycle (2005) by Barney Campbell Tjakamarra 130x41cm Cat 9047BC

Barney Campbell Tjakamarra is of the Ngaanyatjarra language group, born circa 1930 at Kaylilwarra south Warbuton in the Gibson Desert of Western Australia. Barney’s Mother and Father died in the bush when he was young, so he was “grown up” by relatives, his second mother and father. It was his uncle who took him to Papunya where he became a man.

The paintings by Barney Campbell possess a maze of sinuous lines. Such iconography is profoundly reminiscent of ceremonial body designs and traditional ground drawings. The most common subject depicted in Barney’s paintings is that of the Tingari Cycle.

Since events associated with the Tingari Cycle are of a secret and sacred nature few details are given. Generally, the Tingari are a group of men of the Dreaming creation) era who travelled over vast stretches of the country, performing rituals and creating and shaping particular sites. The Tingari men were accompanied by novices and usually followed by Tingari Women. Their travels and adventures are enshrined in the song cycles. These legends form part of the teachings of the post-initiatory youths today, as well as providing explanations for contemporary customs.