Thomas Tjapaltjarri
Acrylic on Canvas | Unstretched
120 x 120 cm | C25192
2006
$6600 AUD
Tingari
This striking work by renowned Pintupi artist Thomas Tjapaltjarri features a rhythmic composition of concentric motifs rendered in white on a deep red ground. The repeated forms represent ancestral stories and sacred ceremonial sites from the Western Desert, particularly the artist’s traditional lands around Kiwirrkurra in Western Australia. Each square or rounded motif symbolizes a claypan, rock hole, or other significant element of the landscape, encoded with spiritual meaning and inherited knowledge.
Thomas is one of the last Aboriginal people to have lived a traditional, nomadic lifestyle before first contact with Europeans in 1984. His paintings offer a rare and powerful connection to Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives, expressed through a refined and deliberate visual language. The geometric repetition evokes both the physical landscape and its spiritual resonance, inviting contemplation of Country, memory, and belonging.
This work exemplifies Tjapaltjarri’s unique approach to mark-making—meditative, minimal, and deeply rooted in cultural continuity.
Australian Art Collective - Art for Everyone | Australian Aboriginal Art Gallery 