Hector Burton facts for kids

Hector Tjupuru Burton is an amazing Australian Aboriginal artist. He is a very important artist from Amaṯa, a town in north-western South Australia. His artwork has been shown in many exhibitions since 2003. These shows have been in different cities across Australia and in other countries too.

Hector had his very first solo art show in 2004 in Melbourne. You can find examples of his beautiful paintings in major art galleries. These include the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. His art is also at Flinders University. In both 2011 and 2012, Hector's paintings were chosen as finalists for the important National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

Hector's Early Life and Background

Hector Burton was born around the late 1930s. He was born near a place that is now called Pipalyatjara, in north-west South Australia. Hector is a member of the Pitjantjatjara people. When he was a child, he lived a traditional life in the Australian bush.

Later, when he was still young, Hector and his parents moved out of the desert. They settled at a place called Ernabella. As a young man, Hector worked as a ringer. This means he helped manage cattle on a very large farm called Curtin Springs. After that, he moved to Amaṯa. There, he helped build dams, fences, and cattle yards outside the town. He also worked on a building project in Ernabella.

Hector is a senior leader for the traditional Pitjantjatjara laws. These laws are called Tjukurpa, or Dreaming. His father's traditional land is west of Irrunytju. This land is linked to the Anumara Tjukurpa (Caterpillar Dreaming). It is also linked to the Malu Tjukurpa (Red Kangaroo Dreaming). Hector's mother is from Lake Wilson. These old stories and legends are often the main ideas in his paintings.

Hector's Journey as an Artist

Hector Burton began painting in 2002. He creates his art for Tjala Arts. This is an art company based in the Amaṯa community. When he first started, the company was called Minymaku Arts. In the Pitjantjatjara culture, painting was originally done only by women. The word minymaku means "women's."

Men did not join the women in painting until several years later. This was because they were worried about sharing too much spiritual knowledge. In Western Desert cultures, some knowledge is meant to be kept secret. Hector was one of the first men in Amaṯa to start painting. Because more men joined him, the company changed its name to Tjala Arts in 2004.

His Unique Painting Style

The art community in Amaṯa is still very traditional. Only the basic parts of their beliefs are shown in their artworks. To keep the deep meanings of his paintings secret, Hector uses special techniques. He uses dotting and other methods to hide sacred figures and old symbols. He strongly believes in keeping strict secrecy when it comes to art from his community.

Hector is now a board member of Tjala Arts. He often helps organize art projects and exhibitions with other artists.

Hector's early paintings often showed legends from his family's Dreaming stories. They also showed strong Christian ideas. Hector was taught by Presbyterian missionaries when he grew up in Ernabella. He mixed these Christian beliefs with his family's Dreaming. When he was older, he became a minister. He is now a senior member of the Church on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands.

Since late 2011, Hector and other men from Amaṯa have led a new project. They wanted to change what their artists painted about. Instead of showing sacred Dreaming knowledge, they encouraged artists to paint other things. These new topics included the landscape or wildlife. Hector and the other leaders decided this because Western Desert art became very popular. People started asking too many questions about their traditional designs. This led to too much secret knowledge being shared.

The art center's first exhibition for this new project was in March 2012. It was held in Alice Springs. The exhibition was called Punu-Nguru, which means From the Trees. The paintings in this show featured traditional designs of trees from the artists' home countries.