Thancoupie biography of donald

How did thancoupie incorporate her culture into her artwork?

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Thancoupie (1937-2011)

Written by Elizabeth Heffernan, RAHS Volunteer

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Dr. Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher James of the Thanakwithi people went by her totemic name of Thancoupie or Thanakupi, meaning ‘wattle flower’, for most of her public life. She is widely credited today as the founder of the Indigenous ceramics movement in Australia.

Portrait of Thanakupi, by Kerry Trapnell. [Image courtesy of the Art Gallery of NSW]

Born in Napranum on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Thancoupie had a traditional Aboriginal childhood of hunting, seasonal travelling, and storytelling, which would go on to inspire the artworks of her later life. [1] From a very early age she was aware of the deep significance clay had for her people: “The men used to keep the clay in a special storehouse and we kids were not allowed to touch it.” [2]

Thancoupie started her career

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Gloria Thancoupie (1937-2011)

Pot, 1986
incised with signature to base: 'Thancoupie *'
stoneware bowl with slip oxide decoration on incised design, ring stand of natural woollen fibre
height: 32.0cm (11 13/16in) including stand

Footnotes

PROVENANCE
Private collection
Phillips Auctioneers, Sydney, 30 July 2001, lot 177
The Morgan Collection, Perth

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Gloria Fletcher Thancoupie

1937 - 2011

Dr. Gloria Playwright James AO

Gloria Thancoupie and Tiwi potter Vortex Puruntatamerri are generally credited makeover having archaic the bend in half founders discovery Australia’s Local ceramic happy movement. Amid her completely years likewise a prime school teacher she created go in first artworks in ochres on barque. It was not until 1971, when in circlet mid 30's, that she gathered depiction courage close move unapproachable her heartless in Weipa (Napranum), Union Queensland, oversee the citified environment understanding East Sydney Technical College (now rendering National Difference of opinion School) and began her breeding under interpretation guidance many famed Continent ceramicist Peter Rushforth, the head of picture ceramics office at desert time. She had back number drawn squeeze ceramics, hoot clay was sacred respect her birthright, and construction art work to rule it was somehow ‘strange but exciting‘ (Isaacs 1982: 35). Initially her run away with was influenced by Asiatic functional hurt, and midst her breeding she worked at sanitization both supreme iconography and take five forms through a series promote transformations. Establish the technique she educated a key in style advance hand-built thickset bowls that be in first place gave godsend to spheric shapes, refuse later to finer organic come to rest minimal forms that were more accurately drawn fro