About this artwork
Winmati Roberts has drawn on the millennia of Spinifex cultural knowledge and experience in his visual portrayal of the symbolism involved in the sacred Tjara (Combat Shield). Historically, young boys would watch as their fathers cut slabs from certain trees and fashioned the necessary tjara with precious stone tools. The men would then sculpt complex symbolic incisions across the face of the shields as ownership and decoration. Winmati interprets this history with a contemporary creativity and dynamism but also a personal reverence for a fast disappearing practice.
About Winmati Roberts
Birth Date: circa 1958 Language: Pitjantjatjara Place of Birth: Umuwa Skin/Clan: Pitjantjatjara Winmati Roberts is descended from a line of renowned artists. His mother, the late Wingu Tingima, was on of the best-known and respected painters and his father, the late Lima Tingima, was an inspirational figure in Winmati's life, passing on his great knowledge of the country and Law to his son. As a young man, Winmati worked on the bore program, a project supporting Anangu's desire to return to country. He also helped to establish the community of Nyapari where he lived for many years. Winmati paints the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa of Pukara, a story depicting two snakes, a father and son travelling across country during ceremonial time.
