Thomas Tjapaltjarri

Thomas Tjapaltjarri was born c.1964 in the Gibson Desert of Western Australia. In 1984, Thomas “walked out of the desert”, emerging into Kiwirrkurra with his nine sisters and brothers, including now-acclaimed artists Wirrlimpirrnga and Walala Tjapaltjarri. Thomas and his family were famously called the Pintupi Nine, or 'the lost tribe'. Having led a completely nomadic life, this was Thomas’ first contact with the Western world, and his first time learning of British colonisation of the Australian continent.

Thomas paints designs associated with the Tingari Dreaming Cycle, a deeply secret and sacred Dreaming story for the people of the Pintupi language group. It is a Creation story, telling the travels of the ancient Tingari ancestors who traversed the desert, performing rituals teaching law and creating features of the land and sacred ceremonial sites. The Pintupi people adhere to the laws that were borne of this Creation era to this day. Due to the sacred nature of the Tingari Dreaming Cycle, deeper knowledge of this story is restricted to initiated Pintupi peoples or those possessing the appropriate levels of seniority.