Grandfather's Storyby Trephina Sultan Thanguwa

This painting carries deep spiritual meaning for Trephina and is dedicated to her grandfather Jack Douglas from Northern Queensland.

Trephina tells the story. "My grandfather told of men of magic who lived amongst our tribe, when there was trouble and an innocent life was taken the men of magic would come together and gather around and sing whilst creating a fire with special stones. The face of the person who committed the crime would appear in the fire and the whirl winds of the fire would rise and and seek out that person and destroy them, as punishment."

These magic stone and whirl winds of fire are depicted.

Artist:Trephina Sultan Thanguwa
Title:Grandfather's Story
ID:08101279
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas
Size:73 x 43 cm
Region:Kings Canyon, Central Australia

Artist

Born in 1967 in Alice Springs, Trephina grew up with many uncles, aunties and cousins doting on her as a beautiful young Aboriginal girl, she was the only child in her family.

Trephina Sultan started to paint at a very young age. As a young girl she used to sit and watch her uncles, aunties, cousins and friends paint for hours at a time. She would then pick up a stick and draw her art in the dirt.

With her mother and aunty a big influence in her life, Trephina went to the English speaking school at Alice Springs. Even though English became Trephina’s first language, she was taught Luritja, the language of her family and Elders at home. Trephina, in her own words, had the best of both worlds.

The language skill she acquired stood Trephina in good stead. Acknowledged as a Luritja language specialist, she did work as an interpreter and in conjunction with colleagues and the Alice Springs Institute for Aboriginal Development, was a valuable contributor to an Aboriginal-English dictionary.

However, Trephina’s main love is painting. Her artwork drawing on the knowledge acquired in her youth, and the stories her family and Elders passed down.

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