Mick’s paintings depict undulating landscapes appearing to oscillate and move with visual energy. The artist generates this effect by painting patterned backgrounds on which he meticulously adds tight, meandering lines composed of thousands of dots.These lines and switchbacks correspond to mythical stories of the Pintupi people and the formation of the desert in which they live. Tjapaltjarri paints abstract images of sacred stories and songs from his family's Dreaming. The stories focus around the Tingari, the ancestors of the Pintupi, spirit beings who are believed to have created all living things. His stories are about his country and sacred sites such as Marruwa and Kanapilya.
Mick Namarari was born at Marnpi, south west of Mount Rennie and was on the Papunya community council when Geoff Bardon arrived there to teach art in 1971. He was one of the first to express an interest in painting for Bardon shortly after his arrival and was a founding member of the Papunya Tula Artists cooperative the following year.
Provenance
Warumpi Arts, NT Cat No. KAMNT 003/97
Kimberley Art, Victoria, Australia. Cat No. KA00517
Lawson~Menzies Important Aboriginal, Sydney, NSW, June 2009, Lot No. 183
Menzies Estate Collection, Victoria, Australia
Private Collection, The Netherlands
Exhibited
'Tjukurrpa: The Dreaming', SmithDavidson Gallery X UNIT London, London, United Kingdom, 2025
Please note that all First Nations Art is created from a so called ‘Birds Eye’ view. This means that the paintings can be hung either horizontally as well as vertically.
SmithDavidson Gallery represents a wide range of Australian First Nations Art. Please contact us for additional information.