Exactly forty years ago, in late 1984, the international headlines were filled with the ’discovery’ of the last group of Australian First Nations people, the so-called Last of the Nomads. These nine Pintupi tribesmen had walked in from the bush west of Lake Owen that year and for the first time came into contact with western civilization. Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri was about 25 years old at that time and his brothers Thomas and Walala, were mere teenagers. Their intimate knowledge of the land, its flora, fauna and waterholes allowed them to survive, as their ancestors had for thousands of years.
After this huge transformation in their life the Pintupi Nine moved to the Western Desert settlements, where they were introduced to the thriving painting movement. Warlimpirrnga, Thomas and Walala Tjapaltjarri started painting in 1987 and went on to paint in very distinct different styles, however always referring to the Tingari Cycle. This is a vast collection of religious stories, ceremonies and laws that were transmitted to the inhabitants of the Western Desert by the Tingari; a group of mythical, spiritual beings that according to legend crossed a huge area of the Western Desert while performing rituals and thereby shaping the landscape and various holy places.
The paintings by Walala are associated with the area known as Kakarrara and continues further west to Wilurrara. His distinct style is recognisable by outlines of rectangles surrounded by a minute dot-painting pattern placed on red or black background. The rectangles so prominent in his paintings form both a physical and spiritual map, establishing Walala as a discerning draughtsman for his ancient country. Walala is widely praised as an innovative and adventurous artist. He was praised among others by the art critic Robert Hughes and included in his BBC documentary series ‘Beyond the Fatal Shore’.
After living with his own family in Balgo, Thomas moved to life with his wife’s family at Mt. Liebig. Thomas had epilepsy and thus received a disability pension from the government from a young age. This soon earned him the nickname the 'Pensioner'. Thomas' Dreamings are mostly inspired by his native land around Wilkinkarra, south of Kiwirkurra. He paintings consists of simple, geometric motifs in a dotting-style that are much reminiscent of his brothers Walala and Warlimpirrnga, as well as George Ward Tjungurrayi. Like them, Thomas paints the stories of the Tingari cycle.
The designs featured in Warlimpirrnga’s paintings display the rich optical effect that is a feature of many western desert Aboriginal paintings. Lozenge shapes appear to gaze from the almost hypnotic field of dotted lines, resembling the effects of wind on the desert sandhills. Warlimpirrnga’s mesmerising works, departing from the more traditional ceremonial style of painting in his earlier paintings, have gained huge international appeal. His works have been exhibited widely from Dokumenta Kassel, Germany to the Perez Museum in Miami, USA and his works can be found in many private and public collections. The entire collection of his first solo exhibition in 1988 was purchased and donated to the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia.
After making contact and establishing their relationships with their newly acquainted community members, the Pintupi Nine were invited to come and live at Kiwirrkura, where most of them still reside. Sadly Thomas Tjapaltjarri passed away suddenly in the Summer of 2024. Warlimpirrnga travels back and forth between Alice Springs and his native land around Kiwirrkurra in the Western Desert of Australia and continues to paint.
