Biography

A member of the Kiwirrkura artistic community, Aboriginal painter Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri belongs to the Pintupi ethnic group, whose mythology is nourished mainly by the memory of the Tingari Men and their exploits. In the Dreamtime, when Australia was created by the totemic ancestors of today's Aborigines, these Mingari Men travelled the desert in caravans with their wives and pupils, whom they gradually initiated into the secrets of creation. At each stage of their journey, these ancestors of the Aborigines established ceremonies in the places where they stopped, giving them a sacred dimension that is still respected today and linked to the accomplishment of some feat or founding act of a religious, cultural or social practice.

All works by Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri are provided with a certificate of authenticity issued by Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd. Collections: • Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australie • National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australie • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne • Musée d’Art Aborigène, Utrecht, Hollande • Groninger Museum, Hollande • Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, U.S.A. • Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, Nouvelle-Zélande • Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Melbourne, Australie • The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth, Australie • The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A.