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WALALA TJAMPALTJARRI
Song Cycles

2016

About the Item

Since he began painting in 1997, Walala Tjapaltjarri has gained worldwide recognition, participating in several national and international solo and group exhibitions. His paintings are represented in private and public collections in Australia, Europe and the U.S.A. Walala Tjapaltjarri was first introduced to painting by his brother Warlimpirrnga, also a painter of international acclaim. While Walala's first paintings were in a classical Tingari style usually reserved for body painting, ground painting and the decoration of traditional artifacts, within a couple of months of painting he evolved his own innovative style of work. He began abstracting the classical Pintupi designs, creating a highly graphic language to speak of his country and ceremonial sites. The rectangles so prominent in his paintings form both a physical and spiritual map establishing Walala as a discerning draughtsman for his ancient country. In was in late 1984, Walala and several other members of the Pintupi Tribe walked out of the remote wilderness of the Gibson Desert in Western Australia and made contact for the first time with European society. Described as 'The Lost Tribe', he and his family created international headlines. Until that day in 1984, Walala and his family lived the traditional and nomadic life of a hunter-gatherer society. Their intimate knowledge of the land, its flora and fauna and waterholes allowed them to survive, as their ancestors had for thousands of years. It is this sacred landscape with its significant sites that Walala so strikingly describes in his paintings. His style is strongly gestural and boldly graphic, one that is generally highlighted by a series of rectangles set against a monochrome background. He paints the Tingari Cycle (a series of sacred and secret mythological song cycles) which are associated with the artist's many dreaming sites - they are Wilkinkarra, Maruwa, Tarrku, Njami and Yarrawangu, to name a few. These Dreamings are the locations of significant rockholes, sandhills, sacred mountains and water soakages in the Gibson Desert. Walala Tjapaltjarri - Tingari Cycle; During the Tjukurrpa (Creation Era) Tingari ancestors beings gathered at a series of sites for Malliera (Initiation) Ceremonies. They traveled vast stretches of the country, performing rituals at specific sites that in turn created the diverse natural features of the environment. The Tingari men were accompanied by novices and usually followed by Tingari Women. The creation stories and rituals are venerated in the song cycles and ceremonies of today, forming part of the teachings of the post initiatory youths, whilst also providing explanations for contemporary customs. Walala Tjapaltjarri uses a highly personalised and minimal style to represent aspects of the sacred Tingari Cycle, an epic journey of Ancestors of the TJukurrpa (Creation Era). He paints aspects of the Tingari Cycle which are associated with the artist's many sacred sites - such as Wilkinkarra, Maruwa, Tarrku, Njami and Yarrawangu, to name a few. These are locations of significant rockholes, sandhills, sacred mountains and water soakages in the Gibson Desert. Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2019 Walala Tjapaltjarri Self-portrait, Fondation Opale, Lens, Switzerland 2001 Tingari Cycle - Walala Tjapaltjarri, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane 1999 Tingari Cycle - Walala Tjapaltjarri, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane 1998 Tingari - Men's Business, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney 1998 Walala Tjapaltjarri Paintings, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne 1998 Tingari Cycle - Walala Tjapaltjarri, Fire-Works Gallery, Brisbane Selected Group Exhibitions: 2021 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2020 Central Focus, Art Mob, Hobart 2019 An Exhibition on TJAPALTJARRI Brothers from the Indigenous Lost Tribe, Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery, Melbourne 2019 Defining Tradition the colourists, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2019 Defining Tradition: the first wave & its disciples, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2019 Sculpture Projects, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane 2019 Pintupi Artists of the Western Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA 2018 Three Brothers, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2010 Lost Tribe, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney 2000-01 The Art of Place Exhibition, Australian Heritage Commission, National Tour 2000 Walala Tjapaltjarri and Dr George Tjapaltjarri, Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney 2000 Songlines: Walala Tjapaltjarri & Dorothy Napangardi , Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London 2000 My Country - Journeys of our Ancestors, Ancient Earth Indigenous Art, Cairns 2000 Lines, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane 2000 Landmarks Exhibition, Dar Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane 2000 Fifth National Indigenous Heritage Art Award, Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra 2000 Melbourne ArtFair 2000, Melbourne 1999 Tingari Cycle, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane 1999 Spirit Country, The California Palace of the Legion of Honour, San Francisco, U.S.A. 1999 Recent Works by Walala Tjapaltjarri and Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London 1999 My Dreaming, Redrock Gallery, Melbourne 1999 Painting the Desert Alliance Francaise de Canberra and the French Embassy, Canberra 1998 Tingari - My Dreaming, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle Awards and Recognition 2000 17th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist 1999 16th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist 1998 15th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist 1997 14th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist Collections • AMP Investments Australia, Sydney • Gantner Myer Aboriginal Art Collection CNC International Corporation, Sydney • Axiom Funds Management, Sydney • Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, Perth • El Paso Energy International Co, Houston, Texas • Epic Energy Australia, Brisbane • Flinders University, Adelaide • Hastings Funds Management, Melbourne • Kaplan & Levi Collection, Seattle • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney • The Kelton Collection, Santa Monica, USA • Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne • Corrigan Collection, Sydney • Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice • Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Motiers, Switzerland • Artbank, Sydney
  • Creator:
    WALALA TJAMPALTJARRI (1967, Aboriginal Australian)
  • Creation Year:
    2016
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23.63 in (60 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Miami, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU13612550882
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