George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi / Tingari (19882)

George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi (born c.1943) is widely regarded as one of the most significant living artists of the Western Desert and one of the leading figures to emerge from the Papunya Tula movement. His striking minimalist paintings, characterised by countless finely executed parallel lines, have become instantly recognisable and are represented in major public and private collections throughout Australia and internationally.

George was born in the Gibson Desert, northwest of Kiwirrkurra in Western Australia, where he lived a traditional nomadic life with his family. His Country encompasses the vast desert landscapes surrounding Kiwirrkurra, Lake Mackay, Kulkuta, Karku, Ngaluwinyamana and Kilpinya. His sisters, the late Naata Nungurrayi and Nancy (Nganngi) Nungurrayi, were among the most respected women artists of the Western Desert.

Following first contact, George and his family travelled east through Mount Doreen Station and Yuendumu before eventually settling at Papunya. In 1962, he guided Welfare Branch patrol officer Jeremy Long across the desert to Papunya, demonstrating his intimate knowledge of the Country and its traditional pathways.

George was closely connected to the birth of the contemporary Aboriginal art movement. His uncle, Charlie Tarawa Tjungurrayi, was among the senior men who painted the celebrated Papunya School murals in 1971 under the encouragement of teacher Geoffrey Bardon. These murals became the catalyst for what is now recognised as one of Australia’s most important art movements.

Like many younger Pintupi men, George initially assisted senior artists before beginning to paint independently in 1976. Encouraged by founding Papunya Tula artist Nosepeg Tjupurrula, he gradually developed a highly individual style that has become one of the most distinctive in Australian Aboriginal art.

George’s paintings are immediately recognisable for their bold linear compositions and unmistakable visual rhythm. Built from carefully hand painted parallel lines, his works possess a quiet sense of movement and balance while remaining deeply grounded in Pintupi culture. Over the course of his long career, his style has evolved from extremely fine, tightly controlled linework to the broader, more expressive brushstrokes seen in his recent paintings, while retaining the distinctive visual language for which he is internationally recognised.

His principal subject is the Tingari Cycle, one of the most significant ceremonial traditions of the Western Desert. The Tingari ancestors travelled across vast areas of Country, creating sacred sites, establishing ceremonial law and shaping the landscape. While the deeper ceremonial knowledge remains restricted, George’s paintings depict the public aspects of these important ancestral journeys and continue one of the world’s oldest living cultural traditions.

George’s first solo exhibition was held at Utopia Art, Sydney, in 1997, followed by a sold out exhibition at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne the following year. Since then, he has become one of Australia’s most sought after Aboriginal artists, exhibiting extensively throughout Australia and internationally.

His work has been selected for numerous major exhibitions, including the Biennale of Sydney, and he has been a multiple finalist in the Wynne Prize, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), the Alice Prize and Desert Mob. In 2003, he was named one of Australian Art Collector magazine’s “50 Most Collectable Artists.”

In recent years, some paintings have included minor finishing assistance from George’s wife, fellow artist Nanupu Nangala. Working under George’s direction, this assistance relates only to aspects of the finishing linework. George remains the creator of the artwork, its composition and the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) it represents.

George’s paintings are represented in many of Australia’s leading public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Parliament House, as well as significant international collections throughout Europe and the United States.

His nickname “Hairbrush” is said to refer to his distinctive curly hair, which stood out in every direction like the bristles of a hairbrush.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2024 – PULSE, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2020 – The Iconic George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi, Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery, Melbourne
• 2018 – George Tjungurrayi: Major Works, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2016 – Desert Line, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2013 – Pulka Canvas, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2011 – Space and Place, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2008 – Between the Lines, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2003 – Paintings from Mamultjulkulnga and Kirrimalunya, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 1998 – Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 1997 – First Solo Exhibition, Utopia Art, Sydney

Selected Collections

• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
• Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
• Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney
• Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
• Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
• Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra
• Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
• Seattle Art Museum, USA
• Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, USA

This painting depicts one of the most significant themes of George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi’s Pintupi heritage, the Tingari Cycle.

The Tingari ancestors were a group of ancestral elders who travelled across vast areas of the Western Desert during the Dreaming, performing ceremonies, establishing law and creating many of the sacred sites that define the landscape today. Their journeys form an extensive network of songlines stretching across the Gibson Desert, linking important ceremonial places around Kiwirrkurra, Kintore, Lake Mackay, Lake Macdonald and beyond.

At each location, the Tingari ancestors conducted ceremonies, encountered challenges and transformed the landscape, leaving behind the physical features and sacred places that continue to hold profound cultural significance for the Pintupi people. These ancestral journeys also preserve traditional knowledge of Country, with songs describing the landscape in remarkable detail and providing guidance for navigation, survival and ceremony across the desert.

The deeper ceremonial knowledge associated with the Tingari remains restricted to senior initiated men. George’s paintings represent the public aspects of these important ancestral journeys, allowing the stories of his Country to be shared while protecting sacred cultural knowledge.

Through his unmistakable linear style, George transforms these ancient narratives into powerful contemporary works that are immediately recognisable as his own. His bold rhythmic compositions draw on decades of artistic refinement, expressing both the physical landscape of the Western Desert and the enduring cultural traditions that continue to connect the Pintupi people with their ancestral Country.

Artwork Note: This painting was completed by George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi with minor finishing assistance from his wife, Nanupu Nangala. George is the creator of the artwork, its composition and the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) it represents.