Benjamin Kiki Tjungarrayi Aboriginal Christian Painting

Benjamin Kiki Tjungarrayi – Aboriginal Christian Painting

Title: Ngapa Yara (Water Good) / Kurrurny Yara (Holy Spirit)
Price: $1,000
Medium: Acrylic on unstretched canvas.

Experience a powerful blend of faith, culture, and Country through this striking work by Benjamin Kiki Tjungarrayi, a respected Aboriginal artist from Balgo, Western Australia.

Titled Ngapa Yara (Water Good) and Kurrurny Yara (Holy Spirit), this original painting draws on the Bible story of the “Living Waters” from John Chapter 4, reinterpreted through a distinctly Aboriginal perspective. Benjamin’s work marks a return to the roots of contemporary Indigenous art in Balgo—where the first Aboriginal artists painted Christian Bible stories before later exploring their Dreaming stories on canvas.

In this piece, Benjamin reflects on a deeply spiritual story told in his community. He recalls how the tribes of the Western Desert once followed a kingfisher bird in search of water—a vital source of life. That journey led them to Balgo, where they encountered the first Christian missionaries. These missionaries not only offered food and water but shared Bible stories, translating them into Kukatja, a common language that connected people from many tribal groups in the region.

Benjamin’s artwork is both a cultural and spiritual record—honouring his heritage, his faith, and the shared story of connection through language and belief. “Water is everything,” he says, and in Ngapa Yara, water becomes both the literal and spiritual thread that binds people together.

This is a rare opportunity to collect a meaningful and deeply symbolic work by an artist who is proudly blending his Christian faith with Aboriginal storytelling traditions.