George Ward Tjungurrayi / Tingari (2A)

George was born circa 1945 near the site of Lararra, east of Tjuukurla in Western Australia.   George shares the same father as Internationally renowned artists Yala Yala Gibbs and Willy Tjungarrayi. Like many of his contemporaries, George first made contact with Europeans via a welfare patrol led by Jeremy Long and Nosepeg Tjupurrula – this was said to be at a rockhole site south of Kiwirrkura. After moving to Papunya he worked as a fencer and a butcher in the Papunya kitchen.  He began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in about 1976.

His ancestral country covers the sites around Wala Wala, Kiwirrkura, Lake Mackay, Kulkuta, Karku, Ngaluwinyamana and Kilpinya to the north-west of Kintore across the West Australian border. George paints the Tingari stories for this region. Tingari Cycle refers to ancient stories of the ancestral Tingari People who travelled the land during mythological times.

One of George’s most important achievements is winning the prestigious 2004 Wynne Landscape Prize at the Gallery of New South Wales for his topographical depiction of the Western Desert. He has also exhibited in many galleries throughout the past decade and his works are held in major collections worldwide.

Awards

2004
– Wynne Landscape Prize, NSW Art Gallery

Selected Solo & Group Exhibitions

1987
– Utopia Art, Sydney

1988
– Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne

1990
– Friendly Country – Friendly People, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs

1991
– Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs

1995
– Dreamings – Tjukurrpa, Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
– Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
– Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs
– Australia Utopia Art, Sydney

1996
– Adelaide Fringe Festival, Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Adelaide
– Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
– Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
– Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
– Nangara. The Australian Aboriginal Art Exhibition, Brugge, Belgium
– Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs

1997
– Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
– Geschichtenbilder, Aboriginal Art Galerie Baehr, Speyer, Germany
– Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs

1998
– The Desert Mob Show, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs

1999
– Aboriginal Art, IHK Würzburg, Germany (in co-operation with Aboriginal Art Galerie Baehr, Speyer)

2000
– Art of the Aborigines, Leverkusen, Germany (in co-operation with Aboriginal Art Gallery Baehr, Speyer)
– Lines, Brisbane, Queensland
– Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
– Pintupi Men. Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs

2001
– Art of the Pintupi, Adelaide
– Kintore and Kiwirrkura. Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
– Palm Beach Art Fair, Palm Beach, Florida, USA

2002
– Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs

2003
– Pintupi Art 2003, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide
– Papunya Tula Selected Paintings, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
– 20th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin
– The Desert Mob Art Show, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs
– Kintore-Kiwirrkura 2003, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
– Pintupi Art From The Western Desert, Indigenart, Subiaco, Perth
– Masterpieces From The Western Desert, Gavin Graham Gallery, London, UK
– Framed Gallery, Darwin
– Papunya Tula Artists – A Gift From The Desert, Utopia Art, Sydney
– Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs

2004
– Papunya Tula – Selected Paintings, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
– Pintupi Art 2004, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide
– Depth Of Field – Anamorphosis, Utopia Art, Sydney
– Works from Kintore and Kiwirrkura, Alison Kelly Gallery, Melbourne
– Papunya Tula Artists – 2004, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
– All About Papunya, Chapman Gallery Canberra
– Talking About Abstraction, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of NSW
– Aboriginal Art 2004, Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne
– Ma Yungu/Pass It On, Framed Gallery, Darwin
– Looking Closely At Country, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of NSW
– Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs

2005
– George Ward Tjungurrayi, Clarence Gallery, London, UK
– New Ideas, Utopia Art, Sydney
– Papunya Tula Artists, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne

Selected Collections
– National Gallery of Victoria
– Art Gallery of NSW
– Artbank, Sydney
– Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
– Groninger Museum, Groningen
– Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
– Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
– Charles Darwin University
– Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Darwin

During the Tjukurrpa (Creation Era) Tingari ancestor beings gathered at a series of sites for Malliera (Initiation) Ceremonies. They travelled vast stretches of the country, performing rituals at specific sites that in turn created the diverse natural features of the environment. The Tingari men were accompanied by novices and usually followed by Tingari Women. The creation stories and rituals form the song cycles and ceremonies of today, used in part, for the teachings of the post initiatory youths, whilst also providing explanations for contemporary customs.