Biography - Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri
Born: c 1958
Country: Kintore (Walungurru)
Language: Pintupi/Luritja
Tjapaltjarri was born in the late 1950s, near Lake Mackay, east of where Kiwirrkurra is located. His family werePintupi hunter-gatherers who lived a traditional nomadic way of life on the western side of the lake, and who had never come into contact with Euro-Australian society. Tjapaltjarri's father died when he was a young boy, and his mother remarried shortly after. Tjapaltjarri himself married his cousin, Yalti, believed to be around the very late 70's. They have four children.
It was in 1984, when in his mid 20’s, Warlimpirrnga first came into contact with people from outside his family. He and his brothers, Thomas and Walala, were travelling seeking food, along with his wife and five other family members after his mother remarried. He commented that on seeing a white man for the first time: "I couldn't believe it. I thought he was a devil, a bad spirit. He was the colour of clouds at sunrise." A few days later, he and his family were settled at Kiwirrkurra. News that this group had continued to live remotely and nomadically so long into the 20th century became global news.
As he and his family settled into their unfamiliar lives, he watched the men painting at Papunya Tula and asked to be allowed to join them. His early paintings depict Tingari cycle in the classic Pintupi style. This vast, undulating religious cycle re-enacted in men's ceremonies, tells of the journeyings of large groups of ancestral beings and novices across the country.
In 2015, Warlimpirrnga had his first solo exhibition in the United States, when 'Maparntjarra' opened at Salon 94 In New York City. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both wrote articles about the show was one of the first steps of the second phase of growth of Warlimpirrnga’s reputation.
Warlimpirrnga paints Snake and Tingari Dreaming stories ofhis country, including the sites of Marawa and Kanapilya and the salt lake and soakage area of Kalparti. Other subjects are Minatapinya, a large swamp south of Marawa, where Tingari men camped as they made their way east towards Wilkinkarra, as well as Malu (Kangaroo) Dreaming.
Warlimpirrnga's work can be found in many public and corporate collections, including the the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Musee National des Arts Africains et Oceaniens, Paris, and the Kelton Foundation, USA.
Warlimpirrnga lives in Kiwirrkurra.