Tiger Palpatja Wanampi Tjukurpa

Biography:

Tiger Palpatja was born near Nyapari, north-west of South Australia, initially, into a traditional nomadic lifestyle until his family relocated to a Presbyterian mission and sheep station known at the time as Ernabella, now identified as Pukatja community. Much of his youth was spent on the station, where he also learnt some English and eventually married.

During the 1970s he relocated with his young family to Amata, which was geographically closer to this homeland, and where he became known for his ‘punu’ - carved wooden objects such as spears.  As the years progressed Tiger became a ‘nganagkari’, a traditional healer for the community.

Coming to painting late in his life Tiger only commenced his practice in 2004, which nevertheless proved a highly successful one; critics lauded his works, and this encouraged entry into a number of art prizes: he was a finalist several times in the National Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Art Award (2006, 2010, 2011), winning the prestigious prize in 2005.  He was also a finalist in the Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards in 2009.

His work is held in a number of private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian National University, Charles Darwin University, Flinders University, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Artwork

Tiger’s work explores themes of the artist’s ‘dreaming’, the Wanampi, a mythical water snake that created the country at his birthplace Piltati.  This creation story relates to his family's ancestors who created the country around Piltati.

The motif of the snake’s form is identifiable in many of his works, and is usually painted in several different colours. Tiger’s work is distinctive due to his employment of bright colours, in contrast to other artists of the Western Desert who use the more traditional, ochre colour palette.

Bibliography

Kleinart, S., & Neale, M., (eds.), The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, Oxford University Press, 2000

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More works by Tiger Palpatja can been seen at the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia.