Tiger Palpatja facts for kids

Tiger Palpatja was an Australian Aboriginal artist. He was born around 1920 and passed away on April 16, 2012. He came from the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia.

Tiger Palpatja's Early Life

Tiger Palpatja was born around 1920, though the exact year is not known. He was born in the bush at a place called Piltati. This rockhole is near what is now Nyapaṟi in north-west South Australia. His family belonged to the Pitjantjatjara people. They lived a traditional, nomadic life in the bushland around Piltati.

When Tiger was a teenager, his family settled at Ernabella. This was a mission and a sheep station at the time. Tiger grew up there and learned some English in school. He later married a woman named Nyalapanytja. They lived in Ernabella for many years. Tiger worked on the station, shearing sheep and building fences.

In the 1970s, Tiger and his family moved to Amaṯa. This was closer to his homeland. As he got older, Tiger became a ngangkaṟi, which means a traditional healer. This is a very important and respected role in Pitjantjatjara communities.

Becoming an Artist

In 1997, the women in Amaṯa started a community art centre. It was first called Minymaku Arts. The word minymaku means "women's." They used this name because Pitjantjatjara men did not like to paint back then. But in the early 2000s, some men started painting. So, the centre's name was changed to Tjala Arts.

Tiger started painting in September 2004. This was less than eight years before he passed away. He had never painted before this time. He was actually better known for woodworking, especially making spears.

Even though he only started painting late in life, his art quickly became well-known. In 2005, Tiger was a finalist for the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award. He was a finalist three more times before he died: in 2006, 2010, and 2011. He also became a finalist in the Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards in 2009 and 2011. Tiger mainly painted for Tjala Arts. From 2009, he also worked for Tjungu Palya in nearby Nyapaṟi.

Tiger Palpatja's Artwork

Tiger's paintings told sacred stories from his Dreaming. Most of these stories were about Piltati, the place where he was born. This place is linked to a creation story about two sisters and their husbands. They changed themselves into Wanampi, which is a giant water snake.

According to Tiger's Dreaming, the Wanampi are his family's ancestors. They created the land around Piltati. The shape of the snake can be seen in many of Tiger's paintings. He often painted it using several different colors. His paintings were known for their bright colors. This was different from the natural ochre colors used by many other artists from the Western Desert.

Exhibitions and Collections

Tiger Palpatja passed away on April 16, 2012, when he was over 90 years old. While he was alive, his paintings were shown in many big cities. These included Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, and Perth. His artwork is now kept in permanent galleries in most of these cities.

His work was also shown overseas. It was exhibited at the University of Virginia in 2006 and in Singapore in 2008. His paintings are now part of the collections at:

• The National Gallery of Victoria
• The National Gallery of Australia
• The Australian National University
• Charles Darwin University
• Flinders University
• The Art Gallery of New South Wales