I know there is a lot of amazing indigenous art around but something about “Kurlilypurru” by Tommy Mitchell just appealed to me. It reminds me of a rag rug and the colours are so fresh. The piece is part of an exhibiton at the NGV called Living Water – Contemporary Art of the Far Western Desert:
Aboriginal people from across the Western Desert use the term ‘living water’ to describe water sources, including rock holes and soakage waters that are fed by underground springs. The path of these springs was created by the ancestral beings of the tjukurrpa (Dreaming) as they themselves journeyed underground, their entry into the earth often marking the site of current day water sources. ‘Living water’ is revered also because it does not seem to be affected by the harsh conditions above the ground that the people themselves have to endure.
Rupert Street Digest 
Jim
December 1, 2011
Visually stunning. I love the shimmering almost aged colours. As you say it could be a piece of textile. Is that a contemporary design?
Laura@RupertStreetDigest
December 2, 2011
Yes all the works in the exhibition are painted between 2000 and now I’m pretty sure (in acrylics). Thinking it also reminds me of a large mosaic, can imagine it under a water fountain or at the bottom of an azure pool. Possibly because of the many right angles and mostly rectangular shapes. Lx