Details of Tiger Palpatja
About
Tiger was born at Piltati rock hole , the sacred place of the Two Serpent Men in the far north west of South Australia c1920s. He lived a traditional nomadic life prior to moving to the mission at Ernabella where he worked as a shearer. Tiger is a Ngangkari (traditional healer) and a senior Law man. He is the senior custodian for the Wanampi Tjukurpa the creation story for country around Piltati near Nyapari Community.
Tiger began painting for Tjala Arts at Amata in 2004, where he developed a reputation as an outstanding artist and a great colourist. He moved back to his homeland at Nyapari community in 2009 after living at Amata for many years and began to work with Tjungu Palya. Today Tiger is represented by both Tjala Arts and Tjungu Palya.
Tiger has custodial rights and responsibilities for country around the Mann Ranges including Wati Ngintaka Tjukurpa and the Wanampi Kutjara Tjukurpa, both ancestral stories of epic proportions relating to the formation of the land and rock holes in the region. This story for Piltati was related to Tjala Arts.
"Away back in times when the world was young, two snake brothers and their wives lived near Piltati, west of Amata. Every day the women went out hunting, and every evening they bought home kuka (meat for cooking) for the men, who didnt do anything but perform ceremonies. After a while they became annoyed at the mens laziness. The women decided to eat all the food they caught and to leave the men to fend for themselves. The Snake brothers were angry, they decided to punish the women for their insubordination. After lots of talking, each of the brothers agreed to change themselves into a wanampi (a giant mythological water serpent, which also had the power to travel above and below ground) and play a practical joke upon the women that would cause them a great deal of hard useless labour. They went to a marsupial rat hole where the women had been digging, and imitated the tracks of a large snake by rubbing the back of a spear thrower on the ground.Then they entered the hole, and one of them left out enough of his tail for the women to see. The younger sister became very excited when she saw the tracks of so large a snake and then it's tail, and began to pull the creature from its burrow, but the tail kept slipping from her grasp. Always the Wanampi, to tease the younger sister, allowed himself to be dragged out a few feet before wriggling himself free. Again and again he let himself be caught before wriggling out once more. Eventually the younger sister became so tired, she gave up and returned to her sister. In evening, when they were eating dinner, the younger sister told her elder sister: 'today i almost caught a carpet snake as big as a Wanampi, but I couldn't pull it from its burrow, it was too strong for me!' ' I'll give you a hand tomorrow' said the elder sister.and we'll catch it , no matter how big it is!' The next morning the women set off with their wana (digging sticks) and piti (large wooden bowl). They dug all day long, then the next day and the next, occasionally glimpsing the snake. Sometimes they caught a small carpet snake enough for their evening meal. The small carpet snakes were created by the men so the women wouldnt loose heart nor grow hungry. They continued to dig on, after the Wanampi, but they never caught him. In their pursuit the women dug a trench from Atjaratjara to Piltati, now a water course approximately 25km long. Their burrow started to go deeper and the women dug many subsidiary branches in their pursuit, creating the gorge at Piltati, with its creeks and piles of rock that clutter the valley floor. Finally the elder sister changed her tactics. She dug a pit ahead of the entrance to the burrow (now the largest rock hole at Piltati), uncovering the Wanampi before he could get away. She was so frightened by his huge coils turning around at her feet that she threw her digging stick piercing the side of the Wanampi. The other Wanampi left the burrow, chased and swallowed the younger woman. The injured snake although in great pain, caught,killed and ate the elder sister at the mouth of Piltati gorge. That Wanampi is now a bloodwood tree with a dry limb sticking out at one side, and the trunk is covered with lumps and excrescences. The dead limb is the digging stick with which the snake was speared; the lumps and excrescences are the body of the woman still showing through the skin of the snake."
In the short time Tiger has been painting he has earned a reputation as a leading artist in the Pitjantjara Lands and his work is held in major public and private collections.
TJUNGU PALYA
Located about 100 kms south of Uluru, Nyapari is set at the base of the majestic Mann Ranges in the heart of country originally owned by the Pitjanjatjara people. These ranges, known to the Anangu as Murputja, likening the mountain to a bony ridge of a person's spine, are the source of many waterholes and traditional camping places. The homelands of Kanpi, Nyapari, Angatja, Umpukulu and Tjankanu have grown from these seasonal camping places into permanent settlements. Over 50 artists from Marputja joined together with family members living in traditional country 180 kms to the south of Watarru and created Tjungu Palya (Good Together).
Tjungu Palya is 100% owned and maanged by Aboriginal people, ensuring the wealth of talent and economic returns are retained in the community. Tjungu Palya promotes cultural integrity and the ethical sales of authentic art.
Tiger also works through Tjala Arts, a community owned and operated art centre at Amata community.
MEDIUM
Acrylic on canvas
Punu (wooden artifacts and weapons)
THEMES
Wati Ngintaka
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008 'Wanampi Tjukurpa' Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2006 Tiger Palpatja: Snake Dreamings From The Desert, Birrung Gallery, Sydney, NSW
GROUP EXHIBITION
2011 'Tjungu Palya 2011', Short St Gallery, Broome, WA
2011 'Western APY Lands', ArtKelch, Freiburg, Germany
2011 'Tjungu Palya - Masterpieces', Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2011 'Ngura Tjukuritja - A Dreaming Place, Marshall Arts, Adelaide, SA
2011 'Intangibles in Terra Australis', Flinders University City Gallery, State Library of SA, Adelaide, SA
2011 'Green', Outstation Gallery, Darwin, NT
2010 'Tjukurpa', Outstation Gallery, Darwin, NT
2010 'Senior Artists - Important New Works', Randell Lane Fine Arts, Perth, WA
2010 'Tjungu Palya Survey Show' Short St. Gallery, Broome, WA
2010 'Unsung Heroes' Australian High Commission, Singapore
2010 'Raft Launch' Raft Artspace , Alice Springs, NT
2010 'Intangibles in Terra Australis' Sala kubo-kutxa in association with Marshall Arts, San Sebastian, Spain.
2010 'Tjukurpa Pulkatjara: The Power of Law' South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA
2010 'Partnerships' Marshall Arts, Adelaide, SA
2010 'Senior Artists- Important new Works' Randell Lane Fine Arts, Perth, WA
2009 '26th NATSIAA , Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
2009 'Anangu Backyard' Adelaide festival Centre, Adeliade, SA
2009 'Tjala Arts Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2009 'tjala Arts' Aboriginal & Pacific Art, Sydney ,NSW
2009 'Tjala Arts, Randell Lane Fine Art, Perth, WA
2009 'Our Mob' Tjala Arts, Adelaide Festival Centre, SA
2009 'Making Tracks- A Glimpse at two decades of Aboriginal Art in South Australia' Tandanya, Adelaide, SA
2009 'New Work Tjala Arts' Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2009 'Master Stroke' Randell Lane Fine Art, Perth, WA
2009 Indigenous Art & Law & Healing University Club, UWA, Crawley WA
2009 Desert Mob Tjala Arts. Araluen Alice Springs, NT
2008 Tjukurpa nganampa kunpu kanyintjaku - Stories that keep culture strong' Tjala Arts, Aboriginal & Pacific Art Saydne. NSW
2008 Tjungu Palyaku Warka Nyuwana' ReDot Gallery, Singapore
2008 Tjala Arts Men Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2008 New Work- Tjala Arts Randell Lane Fine Art Perth, WA
2007 'Desert Masterclass' South Australian MUseum (Marshalll Arts) Adelaide, SA
2007 Nyangatja nganampa tjukurpa: These are our stories, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Vic
2006 Tjala Arts: SALA Festival, Art Images, Adelaide, SA
2006 Tjala Arts, Kluge-Ruhe, University of Virginia, USA
2006 Utulu kuwaritja amatala nguru: New mob from Amata, Red Dot Gallery, Singapore
2005 Waku Kunpu: Strong Work, Bandigan Art, Sydney, NSW
2005 Amata watiku tjukurpa wiru: Good stories from Amata men, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
2005 Minymaku Arts: SALA Festival Art Images, Adelaide , SA
2005 Minymaku Arts:Emerging artists from Amata South Australia' Indigenart, Fremantle, WA
COLLECTIONS
National Gallery of Victoria
Flinders University Art Museum
Peter Baillie Collection
Merenda Collection
Marshall Collection, Adelaide, Sa
Lagerberg-Swift Collection, perth, WA
Araluen Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Charles Darwin University Collection
The Corrigan Collection, Sydney, NSW
Australian National University Collection, Canberra ,ACT
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
South Australian Art Gallery, Adelaide, SA
University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT
Hassall Collection, Sydney, NSW
W & V McGeoch, Melbourne, VIC
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
Artbank
Lepley Collection, Perth, WA
AWARDS
2011 Finalist Togart Art Award
2011 Finalist 28th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Art Award
2011 Finalist Western Australian Indigenous Art Award
2010 Finalist 27th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Art Award
2009 FInalist 26th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Art Award
2009 Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards
2005 Finalist 22nd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Art Award
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
2011 Rothwell, Nicholas', Serpentine Course of a Desert Life. The Australian. June 20th
2011 IAD Press, Jukurpa Calendar, internal image - 'Piltati 2009'
2010 Nunn, Louise. 'Bush artists take 'world by storm' The Advertiser, march 8th 2010
2010 Bevis, Stephen. Exhibition overshadowed by death' The West Australian March 17th 2010
2010 Tjukurpa Pulkatjara - The power of the Law exhibition catalogue, Ananguku Arts Wakefield Press,pg54-57
2010 Australian Art Collector 'Guide to Aboriginal Art Centres' pg40
2010 Radok, Stephanie. 'The many faces of art' The Adelaide Review Cover image. Story pg34. March 2010
2009 Milatec, Daniella. 'Amazing who you meet in a gallery' The Age, June 2, 2009
2009 Eccles, Jeremy. WA Art prize nominees named.
2009 Coslovich, Gabriella. "Legal tussle over elderly artist' The Age. May 4, 2009
2009 Rothwell, Nicholas. 'Painting the song of the land' The Australian, 11th September
2009 Rothwell, Nicholas 'Shifting the strands of the desert' The Australian 8th Sep.
2009 Coslovich, Gabriella 'Legal Tussle over elderly artist' The Age, April 29th.
2009 Eccles, Jeremey. WA Art Prize Nominees Named
2008 McCulloch, Susan. and Childs, Emily. 'Contemporary Aboriginal Art' McCulloch&McCulloch Australian Art Books, Melbourne p.124
2008 McCulloch Childs, Emily. Gibson, Ross. ' New Beginnings-Classic paintings from the Corrigan Collection of 21st Century Aboriginal Art' McCulloch&McCulloch Australian Art Books, Melbourne p122.
2008 Palpatja, Tiger. 'Iriti Tjipa Tjiramilanyatja Anapalala', Department of Education & Children's Services', Northgate, SA
2006 Rothwell,Nicholas. 'The Deserts tainted Brush' Desert Mob exhibtion. The Australian, 11th Sep. 2006.
2006 'Tiger Painting bright', Sydney Morning Herald, April 7, 2006
