Lyndsay Bird Mpetyane (or Tjampijinpa to his Western Desert acquaintances) was born on Bushy Park Station c. 1935. He takes his European surname from the name of the station owner at Bushy Park, Jim Bird. His Aboriginal name is Artola Art Nanaka Yunga Areteca. In his younger days, Lyndsay was a stockman, mustering sheep and droving cattle. An Eastern Anmatyerre speaker, Lyndsay’s traditional country is Aremela, south of Mulga Bore. He is custodian of a Snake story which starts at Harper Spring (Erutakuna). The snakes grew up there and were friends. They travelled to Ti-Tree, Aileron, Bushy Park, Aremula and Elgoanna. Elgoanna is a very important site, with connections to Wood Green, Harper Springs, Woola Downs and Adelaide Bore. Alcoota Creek is the border for Lyndsay’s part of the story. His Dreamings are Charpa (Honey Ant), Utnea and Enmalu (different kinds of snakes), Elcudjera (Prickle), Ulkuta (Perentie or Lizard), Kwata (Lizard’s Egg), Ulumba (White Tree), Arake and Encelcha (the fruit of the bush plum tree and the tree itself). He also paints the Dreaming for a Green Grub which lives in this plum tree, and a kangaroo story which belongs to Ronny Price. He lives at Mulga Bore (Akaye Soakage) on Utopia station with his wife Mavis Petyarre and their three daughters Kavean, Jessica and Rosy Ngale. Mavis also paints her Arangua (Flock Pigeon) and Endunga (Bush Plum) at Akaye Soakage Dreamings occasionally, as do her sisters, Janet and Pansy Petyarre. Mavis and Pansy’s paintings were included in the Summer Project show. They have all been painting since 1987, a year before some of the other Utopia artists. Lyndsay employs a wide variety of painting techniques in his work, often on the same canvas. He had his first solo exhibition at Utopia Art in Sydney in 1989. Collections: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
- Writers:
- Johnson, Vivien
- Date written:
- 1994
- Last updated:
- 2012
