Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri was born east of Kiwirrkura in the late 1950’s. He is the brother of artists Walala and Thomas Tjapaltjarri. In late 1984, Walimpirrnga and eight other relatives walked out of the 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. Warlimpirrnga and his family lived the traditional and nomadic life of a hunter-gatherer society. Their intimate knowledge of the land, its plant life, animals and waterholes allowed them to survive, as their ancestors had for thousands of years. It is this sacred landscape and its significant sites that Warlimpirrnga so strikingly depicts in his paintings.
In 1987, Warlimpirrnga completed his first painting for Papunya Tula Artists and in 1988 his first eleven paintings were exhibited in Melbourne. This entire collection was purchased and donated to the National Gallery of Victoria.
Collections:
Kelton Foundation Collection, California, USA.
Macquarie Bank Collection, Sydney.
Musee des Arts Africians et Oceaniens, Paris.
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Exhibitions:
2003 - Kintore Kiwirrkura, Melbourne.
2002 - 2005 - Native Title Business - Contemporary Indigenous Art, a national travelling exhibition.
1999 – Exhibition with Ray James Tjangala, Melbourne.
1993 - Aboriginal Art Exhibition
1991/92 - Friendly Country, Friendly People, Touring Exhibition, through Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.
1990 – l’ete Australien a Montpellier, Musee Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France.
1989 - Mythscapes, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Select Bibliography:
Crossman, S. and Barou, J-P. (eds), 1990, L’ete Australien a Montpellier: 100
Chefs d’Oevre de la Peinture Australienne, Musee Fabre, Montpellier, France. (C).
Dussart, F., 1993, La Peinture des Aborigines D’Australie, Editions Parentheses,
Marseille, France.
Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House,
East Roseville, New South Wales. (C).
Ryan, J., 1989, Mythscapes Aboriginal Art of the Desert from the National Gallery
of Victoria, exhib. cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. (C).
Winter, Joan., Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art (Catalogue),
Keeira Press, Qld, 2002.
