Carbine McDonald Tjangala was born in Papunya in 1961, the son of Snowy McDonald. As a young man he returned to his father’s Country where he inherited his Tjukurrpa (Dreaming), a sacred narrative connected to a series of significant waterholes extending between Docker River and Kata Tjuta. This Dreaming encompasses four important sites: the Petermann Ranges, Docker River, Kalaya Murrpu (Blood’s Range), and Mulyayti, near Kata Tjuta. These ancestral places continue to underpin and animate his painting practice.
Carbiene uses an innovative technique. Dividing his composition into rectangles by painting gridlines of assorted size across the canvas, he laboriously paints the individual rectangles in circular motions.
Four dreaming 2022 references the artist’s tjukurrpa (Dreaming), which was inherited from his father and relates to waterholes located between Kaltukatjara (Docker River) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) south-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
McDonald’s work exemplifies a compelling innovation within tradition. His distinctive compositions formed through the careful accumulation of loosely applied, coloured acrylic squares, create surfaces of remarkable depth, rhythm and visual sophistication. Though he began painting later in life in 2018, his profound commitment to practice combined with an innate sensitivity to colour and structure has seen his work gain rapid and significant recognition.
In 2019 Carbeine was awarded the Hadley’s Art Prize and was a finalist in the Vincent Lingiari Art Award. His works are held in major public and institutional collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Charles Darwin University, as well as in numerous private collections throughout Australia.
