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 v ...

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 ...

Life

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

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, 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 set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...

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. 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 (APY) Lands. She is now represented by the

APY Art Centre Collective Annual percentage yield (APY) is a normalized representation of an interest rate, based on a compounding period of one year. APY figures allow a reasonable, single-point comparison of different offerings with varying compounding schedules. Howev ...

. 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 import ...

, 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