Thomas Tjapaltjarri / Tingari

A Pintupi artist who was one of the Pintupi Nine to come into Kiwirrkurra in 1984. His rhythmic artworks map Tingari song cycles, ceremony and sacred Country through a highly distinctive visual language. He started creating art around 1990 for the Papunya Tula Artists co-operative and quickly developed his own rhythmic visual language to portray country and ceremony. Thomas and his lineage created international headlines when they walked out of the desert west of Lake Mackay into the small Kiwirrkura community, just inside the West Australian border west of Alice Springs in 1984.

Described as “The Lost Tribe” and “Pintupi Nine,” they were the last recognised group of people to make contact with white society. The subject of his artworks was the Tingari Cycle, secret song cycles sacred to men. Thomas’ works are held in significant private and corporate collections around the world.