BeijingBlue - a gallery of contemporary international and Aboriginal art

Walala Tjapaltjarri

Since he began painting in 1997, Walala has gained worldwide recognition, participating in several national and international solo and group exhibitions. His paintings are represented in private and public collections in Australia, Europe and the United States. Born c. 1960 in Lake Mackay (Western Desert), Walala was first introduced to painting by his brother Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, also a painter of international acclaim. While Walala's first paintings were in a classical Tingari style, he gradually evolved his own innovative style of work.

He began abstracting the classical Pintupi designs, creating a highly graphic language to represent the sacred landscape of his country. He often uses a series of rectangles set against a monochrome background (see below). He also paints the Tingari Cycle, a series of sacred and secret mythological song cycles, that are associated with the artist's many dreaming sites. These Dreamings are the locations of significant rockholes, sandhills, sacred mountains and water soakages in the Gibson Desert.

see gallery