Anatjari Tjakamarra

Anatjari Tjakamarra (1938–1992) was a Central Australian Aboriginal artist who was part of the Papunya Tula art movement. He was born in the area of Kulkuta in Pintupi country. Tjakamarra was a well-respected indigenous ritual leader and leading figure in Aboriginal art. His work is featured in major metropolitan museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Victoria.

Biography Anatjari Tjakamarra who also went by Yanyatjarri or Anitjarri no.3 was a Pintupi man born around 1938 in the area of Kulkuta, southeast of Kiwirrkura in Western Australia. This location is one of the most isolated areas in Central Australia, and he was known to be one of the last people to leave this region. Papunya had been established in the 1960s and was home to the Pintupi people after living semi-nomadic lives. In the early 1970s, he was working in Papunya as a school gardener when school teacher, Geoffrey Bardon began encouraging the men to paint using Western materials. This caused a major stylistic development and movement in Australian art. During his early painting period in the 1970s, Tjakamarra's main political and personal goal was to visit Yawalyurru (a Tingarri site) and protect it from mining exploration. In 1971, he became part of the original Papunya painters. Due to his striking compositions which featured traditional Aboriginal figures and ritual imagery, his artwork influenced the contemporary art world. His style, however, is part of a thousand-year-old tradition in Aboriginal cave art and dreaming. His art skills consisted of careful draftsmanship and precision with exquisite details.

Possum Ancestors, 1975, Acrylic painting

The imagery in this piece is connected to the belief of Tjkumpa, or also known as "dreaming". Through this belief people believed to be connected to ancestors and also their land. The painting tells a story about two bodies that are half possum and half human who have eloped even though it goes against their people's marriage roles, eventually ending in havoc.

Created Tjilpi (Old man's) Corroborree 1972

Created by Anatjari in 1972 this artwork measures 64cm X 60 cm and was painted on composite board. The central roundel represents a cave and sacred site with four bull roarers or Tjuringa radiating from the central motif. The background design is related to skin designs used by the initiates.

Exhibitions After settling at Kiwirrkura late in the decade, he began working through Papunya Tula Pty Ltd. He had his first solo exhibition at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in 1989, and another in the same year at the John Weber Gallery in New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired his painting Tingari Dreaming Cycle in the early 1990s; this was the first purchased work of contemporary Aboriginal artwork. including the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), the Art Gallery of South Australia (one work), the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales (2 works).

The National Gallery of Victoria has three works by Anatjari Tjakamarra's including Big Pintupi Dreaming Ceremony (1972), Kurlkurta (1990), and Women's Dreaming at Tjukula (1991).

The National Gallery of Australia has one work by Anatjari Tjakamarra which is Emu Story (1972).

Achievements First solo exhibition in New York of 1989 by Metropolitan Museum of Art, the museum purchased one of Anatjari Tjakamarra's paintings, making it the first western desert painting to be featured in a collection of contemporary art.