PUNGKAI
Pungkai was born Peter Bertani to an Italian immigrant father (deceased) and a Nyoongar mother. In 1980 he moved to Nyapari, a tiny community at the base of the Mann Ranges on the South Australian-Northern Territory border; Nyapari is home to the Stevens family, and Tjungu Palya. In the early 1980s there were no buildings or services, nor an art centre, just ‘wiltja’ (traditional shelters made of branches).
During his early days in Nyapari, Pungkai was adopted by the late Eileen Stevens, matriarch of Nyapari and master painter. She gave him the name Pungkai, which is associated with the sacred water hole, Piltati, just east of Nyapari. Through Stevens, he was initiated into Pitjantatjara culture; she became his adoptive mother and her son, Keith Stevens, is now his brother.
Pungkai is represented in the Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank, Edith Cowan University Collection, and major private collections.
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