Walala Tjapaltjarri


Born: c. 1960
Community: Kiwirrkurra, NT
Language: Pintupi

Walala, together with several other members of the “lost” Pintupi tribe, made first contact with Western civilization in late 1984. The small group walked out of the wilderness of the Gibson Desert giving up nomadic life.

Introduced to painting by his older brother Warlimpirrnga, he soon developed his signature abstract style using rectangles against a monochromatic background in the portrayal of his Dreamings. His choice of themes focuses on the Tingari Cycle depicting a series of sacred ancestral songs related to significant dreaming sites located in the Gibson Desert.

Walala’s body of work is well represented in important collections around the world, notably the Gantner Myer Aboriginal Art Collection (Sydney), the Levi Kaplan Collection (Seattle, USA) and the Kelton Foundation (Santa Monica, USA).

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