“Nyoongarah Wirdanginy” by Tjyllyungoo - Lance Chadd

You may well have already seen some of Tjyllyungoo Lance Chadd’s (b. 1954) art on your travels, as this extremely talented artist has made sculptures and murals as well as stunning paintings which can be found in many major art collections. A Bibbulmun Nyoongar/Budimia Yamatji man, Tjyllyungoo has been painting for nearly 50 years, starting as a young man when he watched his Uncle Alan Kelly paint in the Carrolup Style. Tjyllyungoo is well known for his watercolours and acrylic paintings in which he emphasises Aboriginal spirituality and connection to country. This acrylic on canvas painting was bought from the 2010 Noongar Country exhibition at the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries, an annual showcase of Nyoongar art which is one of several programs run through the Gallery to nurture and promote Nyoongar artists. Nyoongar can be spelled many ways: the WA Museum which hosts this site uses the convention of a ‘y’ before the two o’s (i.e. Nyoongar), but many others omit the ‘y’ (i.e. Noongar). In the south west of WA, the double ‘o’ is often replaced with a ‘u’ (i.e. Nyungar). Similarly, the ‘ar’ at the end, may be replaced with ‘ah’ (e.g. Noongah, Nyungah etc.). All are correct because they are phonetic spellings of an oral language.