Pitjantjara artist Tiger Palpatja did not start painting until he was eighty-five years old. Born at a rockhole called Piltati in the southern deserts of Australia (also known as APY Lands), Palpatja grew up with a traditional nomadic life. When he was a teenager, his family shifted to a settlement in Ernabella, where there was a Presbyterian mission and sheep station.

Despite the Christian context, Palpatja continued practicing his culture and spirituality, becoming a traditional healer, ceremonial leader, and carver of objects and spears. Once the mission closed in the 1970s, he moved to the township of Amata to be closer to his own Country; it was here that he eventually started his art practice.

‘Tiger’s Creation Story’ is a sublime painting. It is characteristically Palpatja – rich egg yolk yellow, terracotta and frothy cream paint move across the canvas in pattern and lively story. The artist was a senior custodian for the Wanampi creation story, which is central to both his culture and identity. Instructive of the delicate balance between men and women, this story tells of the frustration between two brothers and wives. At its close, the men – transfigured into snakes – have swallowed the wives and retreated into the holes, channels and gullies they dug. 

Despite starting so late in life, Palpatja emerged as one of the leading artists of the APY Lands. He was a four-time finalist in the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award and is extensively represented across public collections, including at the National Gallery of Victoria. For collectors of important First Nations art, Tiger Palpatja is a powerful addition.

Tiger PALPATJA (1920 - 2012)
'Tiger’s Creation Story' 2005
acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 101 x 152 cm
Dimensions: 101 x 152 x 3 cm
Signed: signed with initial verso: T bears inscription verso: artist's name, title, date and Tjala Arts cat. 068–06, 101.5 x 152 cm
 
Comes with Letter of Provenance
 
Condition: Excellent 
 
(c) The Artist or Assignee