Freddy West Tjakamarra facts for kids

Freddy West Tjakamarra (born around 1932 – died 1994) was an important Australian Aboriginal artist. He was a leader for the Pintupi people, helping them return to their traditional lands in the 1980s. He also helped start the Kiwirrkurra community in 1983. As an artist, West was part of the Western Desert art movement. He was one of the first painters at the famous Papunya Tula art school.

Freddy West's Early Life

Freddy West was born in the Great Sandy Desert in the early 1930s. He was born in an area called Pollock Hills, which is north of where Kiwirrkurra is today. For the first half of his life, he lived a nomadic lifestyle. This means he and his family moved from place to place, hunting animals and gathering plants for food. They were often near the western shore of Lake Mackay.

His family often traveled with another group led by a man named Waku Tjungurrayi. These families were some of the last nomadic groups in the desert. Most other families had already moved to government settlements by the 1950s.

Moving to Papunya

In 1962, West decided to join his relatives who were living at Papunya. This land traditionally belonged to the Luritja people. However, the Pintupi people had been forced to move there because of weapons tests happening at Woomera.

West met some officers from the Territory's welfare department. He arranged for them to take him and his family to Papunya a year later. In August 1963, West and his family started walking towards Papunya and met the welfare officers along the way. West had two wives, Parara and Payu, who were sisters.

Becoming an Artist

At Papunya, Freddy West began to paint with Geoffrey Bardon. He became one of the very first members of the Papunya Tula art school. He also became a shareholder in the company, meaning he owned a small part of it.

In the late 1970s, West strongly encouraged the Pintupi community to leave Papunya. He wanted them to return to their traditional lands in the west. In 1981, he moved back west with other Pintupi people and helped set up the community of Kintore.

He was also very important in starting the Kiwirrkurra community in 1983. He lived there for most of the rest of his life. In October 1984, he married a third wife, Takariya Napaltjarri. She had only just come out of the desert a few days before they married. They later separated, and Takariya married someone else. Freddy West had 15 children with his first two wives. He passed away in 1994.

Freddy West's Paintings

Freddy West did not paint as many artworks as some other early Papunya artists. His first paintings showed abstract scenes of men's ceremonies. These works were very detailed and decorative.

His later paintings told stories from the Pintupi Dreamtime, which they call Tingari. He often used a special pattern of circles and lines in these artworks. You can see his paintings in important places like:

• The Australian Museum in Sydney
• The National Museum of Australia in Canberra
• The Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth
• The Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide