Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri
Born late 1950s
hillside east of modern-day Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia
Residence Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia [1]
Ilparpa, near Alice Springs [2]
Nationality  Australian
Occupation Painter
Years active 1987 – present
Organization Papunya Tula
Style Western Desert art
Religion Aboriginal spirituality
Spouse(s) Yalti Napangati
Children 4 [3][4]
Parent(s) Waku Tjungurrayi (father)
Papalya Nangala (mother)
Relatives Topsy Napaltjarri
Takariya Napaltjarri
Piyiti Tjapaltjarri
Thomas Tjapangati
Yukultji Napangati
Walala Tjapangati

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri (Pintupi [waɭɪmb̥ɪr ɟab̥əɭɟari]; born late 1950s) is an Australian Aboriginal artist. He is one of central Australia's most well-known indigenous artists.

Early life

See also: Pintupi Nine

Warlimpirrnga was born in the late 1950s,[5] near Lake Mackay, east of where Kiwirrkurra is today.[7] His family were Pintupi hunter-gatherers who lived a traditional nomadic way of life on the western side of the lake, and had never come into contact with Euro-Australian society. Warlimpirrnga's father died when he was a young boy, and his mother remarried shortly after. Warlimpirrnga himself married his cousin, Yalti, sometime around 1980... He served the family's main provider of food,[1] hunting with spears, mirru (spear-throwers) and boomerangs.[6]

In 1984, when Warlimpirrnga was about 25, he finally came into contact people from outside his family.[6] Upon seeing a white man for the first time, Warlimpirrnga remembers, "I couldn't believe it. I thought he was a devil, a bad spirit. He was the colour of clouds at sunrise."[2] A few days later, he and his family were settled at Kiwirrkurra. News of this group living nomadically so far into the modern world made headlines internationally.[6]

Painting

Warlimpirrnga started painting in 1987, working with Papunya Tula.[7] Initially practising under the tutelage of other artists at the company, he finished his first painting for them in April 1987.[3] His first public exhibition was in Melbourne, the following year. It showed eleven of his paintings, all of which were bought for the National Gallery of Victoria.[3][7] He has since become one of central Australia's most well-known artists.[6]

Warlimpirrnga paints abstract images of sacred stories and songs from his family's Dreaming. The stories focus around the Tingari, the ancestors of the Pintupi, spirit beings who are believed to have created all living things. His stories are about his country and sacred sites such as Marruwa and Kanapilya.[3][7]

His work is held in several major public collections across Australia, such as in the National Gallery in Canberra, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the National Gallery of Victoria.[7] He also has work in galleries overseas, such as the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.[3] In 2012, his work was shown as part of the documenta exhibition in Kassel, Germany.[8][9] As of 2008, the most one of his paintings has sold for is A$85,000.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Perkins, Hetti (2011). Art + Soul. Miegunyah Press. p. 76. ISBN 9780522857634.
  2. 1 2 3 Adlam, Nigel (3 February 2007). "Lost tribe happy in modern world". Herald Sun. Herald & Weekly Times Pty Ltd.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Documentation card: "Untitled" (2001) by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri. View online at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
  4. ↑ Johnson, Vivien (2008). Lives of the Papunya Tula Artists. Alice Springs: IAD Press. p. 334.
  5. ↑ Since he was born almost 30 years before he came to know about calendars, the exact year is not known. Some sources estimate around 1958 or 1959.[6][7][8]
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Toohey, Paul (4 May 2004). "The Last Nomads" (PDF). The Bulletin. pp. 28–35.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Corbally Stourton, Patrick; Corbally Stourton, Nigel (1996). Songlines and dreamings: contemporary Australian aboriginal painting. Lund Humphries. p. 177.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Roberta (13 June 2012). "Art Show as Unruly Organism: Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany". The New York Times. New York: New York Times Company. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Woods, Cameron (7 June 2012). "Australian artists shine at dOCUMENTA (13)". Australia Council for the Arts. Retrieved 29 July 2012.

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