Context (Acquisition Details)
Diana Wood Conroy who assisted with the acquisition of the Tiwi prints notes: ‘The Tiwi prints are dated twice: the woodblocks themselves date from 1969-71 as you have found out. These actual woodblocks were reprinted in 1996 on rice paper, with the Tiwi Designs stamp. In the Being Tiwi catalogue that I sent to Nick [Nicholas Thomas, MAA’s director] you can see ones very similar to yours dated 1969/96. When I found these 1996 woodcuts, the ones that Nick purchased, in a folder in the rather chaotic Tiwi Design storeroom on Bathurst Island in 2014, they were not signed. In printing protocol they can be signed by the living artists or their descendants - this was a process that I oversaw. You do have prints by Giovanni Tipungwuti (Praxi Tipungwuti signed her father’s) and by Eddie Puruntatameri (Lorraine Purantatmeri signed her brother Eddie’s) , both long deceased, signed by their relatives.

Emeritus Professor Diana Wood Conroy, Faculty of Law Humanities and Art, University of Wollongong

Event Date 2014
Author: Remke Velden

Description (CMS Description)
Woodblock print in black by Bede Tungatalum, undated and untitled. Edition number 3/8. The image shows a male figure. Two stamps are beneath the image. One rectangular stamp reads 'ORIGINAL WOODBLOCK DESIGN BY ABORIGINAL ARTIST'. The second stamp is a circular design in which reads 'Tiwi Design 2ND EDITION 1969-1996' with an image of a bird in the centre. Signed by the artist in pencil.
Event Date 21/11/2014
Author: maa

Context (Production / use)
Tiwi Designs, the oldest of the art centres, was established by Bede Tungutalum and Giovanni Tipungwuti at Nguiu on Bathurst Island in 1970 (although art was made there from 1968). ‘Tiwi’ loosely translates as ‘one people’, and the language and traditions of the Tiwi are distinct, setting them apart from Aboriginal cultures on mainland Australia. Within this context, Tiwi art has developed over time, across various genres, incorporating and expanding upon traditional motifs drawn from Tiwi people’s understanding of cultural cosmologies.
(http://www.mca.com.au/discover-being-tiwi/ accessed 01/02/2016).
For further information see Bullock, N. and Munro, K. eds. (2015) Being Tiwi, Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

Event Date 21/11/2016
Author: maa

Description (Physical description)
The rear of the print is marked '#5' in pencil.
Event Date 5/12/2023
Author: rachel hand